Deadly potholes on Britain’s roads are putting lives at risk because they are not being repaired quickly enough.

Cycling UK discovered only one in eight local councils are meeting targets to fill the damaged menaces and other problems in time.

And figures by the Department for Transport shows 448 people have been killed or seriously injured in crashes linked to terrible road surfaces between 2007 and 2018.

It comes after the chancellor last week announced £2.5 billion over the next five years to repair some 50 million potholes as part of the government's bid to upgrade infrastructure across the UK.

Keir Gallagher, campaigns manager at Cycling UK, said: “While Boris Johnson talks about 'levelling up' infrastructure, the reality is that millions of miles of roads in the UK aren't even fit for purpose, and cyclists are being put at risk every day.”

Local authorities are supposed to repair the most serious potholes reported within 24 hours while those deemed less serious have a three-month window.

But Cycling UK found through a freedom of information act request found only ten councils out of 85, about 12%, filled all potholes on time between 2015 and 2019.

Among those injured by the defects was triathlete Colin McAuley who hit a pothole while taking part in a competition in Nottinghamshire.

He spent six months recuperating and two years on is still undergoing rehab.

Partner Holly Kelly said: “In a blink of an eye our lives changed for ever, and we are still struggling with the aftermath."

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