THOUSANDS of potholes potentially posing a risk to drivers and cyclists have been reported across Oxfordshire.

More than 10,000 road defects have been fixed in the county in the last three years but the council's deputy leader admitted yesterday they may 'never get on top' of the problem.

It comes as figures reveal that more than 2,000 potholes reported to the council through the FixMyStreet app didn't meet the criteria needed to be fixed - larger than a dinner plate and deeper than a can of Coke laid sideways. A further 733 reports are still being investigated with the worst areas in the city revealed as Botley Road, Banbury Road, London Road and Cowley Road. Potholes on Kennington Road in Kennington are also among the most reported.

Rodney Rose, deputy leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said £170m was needed to bring our roads up to scratch and admitted the issue may never be brought under control.

He said: "We have budget constraints in everything we do these days which means with potholes we have intervention levels depending on the size and how serious they are.

"We have to prioritise and if it is only a problem with the surface then that may not be repaired at all until the whole road is resurfaced.

"At the moment we are spending about £10m a year on repairs to roads and that shows that unless we start completely replacing roads - rather than fixing potholes when they appear - we will never get on top of it."

Earlier this year we revealed a big increase in spending which saw the amount of money spent repairing worn out roads in the county more than double last year.

But despite the county council spending £11m on road repair projects in 2014/15 Councillor Rose has said more money is needed from central Government to fix potholes.

In 2014 we reported that resurfacing all of the county's roads would only be complete once every 255 years.

The council and campaigners have urged the public not to be put off reporting potholes.

This weekend Cyclox, a group representing cyclists in the city, has organised a blitz and from 10am to 1pm on Sunday will be going on a Tour de Potholes. Members are also encouraging others to get on their bikes and report any potholes they encounter on their rides using the free FixMyStreet app any time between Saturday and Tuesday.

They are arranging a meeting on August 23 to discuss the outcome and the council's currently policy on repairs.

Regular city cyclist and Cyclox member Allie Noel, who organised the event, said: "I have been cycling on Oxfordshire's roads for 50 years and have come to the conclusion its roads are currently in the worst condition in all that time.

"Potholes put cyclists at significant risk and can cause them to swerve into the carriageway, potentially into the path of an oncoming vehicle, or can easily damage a wheel and cause a rider to crash.

"The county council did get some extra money to tackle potholes but road maintenance budgets have been decreasing and it's not enough – it's clearly not working."

Mrs Noel also criticised the council's criteria for dealing with a pothole, which requires it to be larger than a dinner plate or deeper than a can of Coke laid sideways.

Data from the county council's FixMyStreet app revealed in total more than 3,250 potholes remained "unfixed" despite being flagged up by the public.

Cyclox chairman Simon Hunt urged motorists to keep reporting potholes but said the state of the roads was putting people off cycling.

He said: "Potholes and other road defects are very bad news for everyone, whether they’re in a bus or other vehicle, or on a bike."

To report potholes fixmystreet.com