£2.4m on the way to fill potholes in Staffordshire and the Black County

The funding pledge from the Government will be enough to fill more than 45,000 potholes.

On the back of last week's Autumn Statement, the Department for Transport has revealed its latest package of road improvements in the West Midlands.

It has also confirmed how much each council will receive from the Pothole Fund in 2017/18.

Staffordshire County Council is the big winner in the region and will get £1.6m, the largest sum to be handed out anywhere in the West Midlands and around £500,000 more than the authority received for this year.

At an estimated cost of £53 to fix a pothole the county can expect to see 29,800 filled in next year.

All Black Country councils will also receive thousands of pounds more than they did this year.

Dudley will get the largest amount with £238,000, up from £172,000 this year, while Sandwell is down to receive £225,000 - an increase of £65,000.

Walsall has been allocated £188,000 – £48,000 more than this year – while Wolverhampton, which had £110,000 for 2016/17, will get £173,000 next year.

It is estimated a total of 45,300 potholes will be dealt with thanks to the investment.

In reaction to Staffordshire's substantial increase in funding the county council's highways boss Mark Deaville, said: "Maintaining good roads are important to the council, to local communities and to businesses and any further investment to tackle potholes is always welcome.

"This year we used some of the pothole money to bring in three pothole blitzing Roadmaster machines into the county and we will now be looking at how we can invest next year's allocation to get the maximum benefits for road users and the best value for money for taxpayers.

"Although we welcome the news, it is important to remember that as well as fixing existing potholes, new ones are also occurring, so it is an ongoing challenge especially in a county the size of Staffordshire to keep on top of the backlog".

South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson also welcomed the pothole funding as well as the announcement of further road schemes which will benefit other parts of the West Midlands.

He added: "The funding to fix potholes in our area will also be welcome news for local motorists, many of whom have expressed their frustration to me about the state of our roads.

"I'm encouraging the council to make full use of their funding allocation locally.

"Taken together, these measures will help to build a stronger local economy by linking people with jobs, businesses with customers, ensuring a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few."