I HATE statistics, but here goes.

Despite Britain having some of the safest roads in the world, a study by the Road Safety Foundation found 60 per cent of deaths on our roads between 2015 and 2017 happened on just 12.5 per cent of the network.

The study found A-roads maintained by local councils were a staggering four times more dangerous than Highways England and central government-maintained A-roads and motorways. Anyone who travels over the patch-worked and counter-sunk roads in Cumbria would agree.

Here is your answer - get a grip of local councils who are neglecting their responsibilities, bleating about cuts instead of cutting back their gold-plated pensions, which account for 20 to 25 per cent of our council taxes.

Recently I stove my car suspension into a pothole at least a foot deep entering Grange-over-Sands. This open hole would have killed a biker if he had hit it. Not good enough at council level - time to prosecute them for maladministration?

The roads in this country are a disgrace compared to the equivalent on the continent of Europe, where EU largesse reigns supreme.

Having driven in France on roads beautifully maintained by local councils, I just don't understand why it is so difficult to reproduce the same here.

Will Walker

Holme