The famous newspaper headline, immortalised in the Beatles song 'Day in the Life', rang true with news almost 4,000 potholes remain unfilled in Lancashire.

The song, off the iconic Sgt Pepper album, actually says there were '4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire.'

But news that a total 3,600 potholes in the county were left unrepaired in the Red Rose county over the last year had Lancastrians humming the famous tune anyway.

The 13th Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey which was published on Wednesday revealed the state of Britain's roads and the spiralling cost of maintaining them.

The latest figures based on 2006 to 2007 show the average number of potholes filled by each local authority in England outside London was 5,252 but Preston-based Lancashire County Council revealed their figure was 8,000.

They also admitted 11,600 potholes were reported to them leaving 3,600 still unrepaired.

But the council have refuted claims the figures show the area's roads are falling into disrepair.

County Coun Matthew Tomlinson, cabinet member for environment and transportation said: "Lancashire is a far bigger Highway Authority than almost all other counties in the country and so it follows that the number of potholes that we have reported will be higher.

"We the County Council support this kind of survey and take part every year because we believe that it gives a true picture of the condition of the Highways.

"It could help us in claiming more money to maintain the roads and the fact that potholes appear in the road normally indicates that ideally they could do with further investment but more often than not we have to fill in the potholes as a temporary measure and to safeguard road users."

The news comes after the Evening Post revealed on Tuesday that many potholes are no longer repaired until they are 4cm deep, double the depth previously deemed dangerous enough to require work.

The survey which was carried out by the Asphalt Industry Alliance found there were 93,896 potholes across the North West, an average of 4,268 for each local authority.
The study also revealed drivers would encounter an average of 16 potholes every mile and each local authority was being carved up an average of 12,402 times by utilities companies.

Nationally excluding London, the average cost of filling a pothole is £69 and a total of £41.7m was spent filling potholes.

Outside London the average road is resurfaced every 65 years and a total of £24.2m has been paid in road user compensation claims.

Facts

The late John Lennon described the Beatles 'Day in the Life' as a "sound building up from nothing to the end of the world".

The song starts with the famous line 'I read the news today, oh boy.'

It is believed 'A Day in the Life' was inspired by a copy of a newspaper which carried a story about a rich man who committed suicide, the 'Lucky man who made the grade.'

In another column there was a story about the poor state of the roads in Blackburn which was the inspiration behind the classic line '4,000 holes in Blackburn Lancashire.'

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