Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) says extra investment is "desperately needed" to tackle the impact of climate change on roads with 6,652 potholes currently needing repair.

The council spend £12m on the day-to-day upkeep of roads, footways, and cycleways each year, but more investment would be needed to tackle the growing damage caused by recent adverse weather conditions.

There are more than 4,500 miles of roads in the county, and following the cold spell at the end of last year and more intense periods of rain, more and more damage is being caused to them.

Cllr Alex Beckett, chair of the Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: "We are seeing large defects on our roads, which is being compounded by the impact of climate change and extreme weather – particularly in the Fens.

"This is why we need more investment, as we are not getting the funds from the government to address these important highway issues."

CCC has repaired 1,308 road defects as of last week (January 23), but the continual deterioration of roads means the number of faults and potholes is constantly changing.

READ MORE: 5,000 potholes reported in Cambridgeshire in need of repair

Roads sitting on soil are particularly impacted by the changing weather cycles, with soil expanding when wet and shrinking when dry in the summer.

The movement of the soils is causing extreme expansion and contraction on roads, leading to cracks and deformities which now require major reconstruction that is "likely to be a significant cost to the council."

Cllr Neil Shailer, vice-chair of the highways and transport committee, added: "In the past, we have spent millions of pounds repairing these roads.

"However, we are seeing that those roads are deteriorating a lot quicker than we would have expected.

"We are looking at locations across the county, such as Forty Foot, B1040, B1050 Shelford Road and many other roads, to get an idea of the size of the problem, and this work is being prioritised to be presented to the Highways and Transport Committee in March."

At a CCC Strategy and Resources committee meeting on January 26, the budget recommendations were discussed by members, where £1million from one-off funds from reserves was proposed to be put into highways schemes, including rural roads drainage.

In CCC's five-year business plan, included was an additional £2.5million into a new highways materials recycling operation.

However, Political opponents at CCC have launched a counter-budget, detailing proposals for more money for road repairs.

Councillor Steve Count said the Conservative group is proposing an amendment to the county council's budget to include £5million investment in road maintenance over the next five years.

He said that highway maintenance was a priority for him and the people of Cambridgeshire.

The budget recommendations will be decided at a full council meeting on February 7 and if you have noticed a large number of potholes in the county, then be sure to fill in our questionnaire below.