The state of Essex roads has hit “crisis” point after the amount spent repairing individual potholes dropped by almost £15million in three years, it is claimed.

The operations of Ringway Jacobs – which began its highways maintenance contract with Essex County Council in 2012 – have also been called into question.

Drivers are also being warned the dire state of Essex roads may deteriorate even further as funding is relocated to larger and more expensive projects, according to a campaigning councillor, rather than individual holes.

Revenue spending on potholes has fallen from about £19million in 2014/2015 to £5million in 2016/2017.

Capital funding for road maintenance has increased from about £42million in 2014/2015 to £60million in 2016/2017.

Essex Highways claim roads maintenance also funds the rolling programme of works that aims to improve the condition of the road and stop potholes forming in the first place, disputing claims funding was down.

However, motorists are being warned the drop in revenue funding may lead to an increase in problems across the county’s road network.

David Kendall, a Liberal Democrat county councillor, has called for a task and scrutiny group to look at the Ringway Jacobs contract – which started in 2012 and is due to finish in 2022, with the option of a five-year extension.

He said: “Is it value for money? Is it fit for purpose? Is it doing the job it is designed to do? Are residents getting best value for money?

“In a number of areas, members across the parties have concerns.

“That review needs to happen sooner rather than later.”

Essex County Council says it is committed to investing in some major road improvement projects – including a new Junction 7A for the M11 and a new multi-million pound project to improve the Fairglen Interchange.

Ian Grundy, cabinet member for highways at Essex County Council, said: “We constantly review our contracts, whether large or small, to ensure that we receive the best value for taxpayers’ money.

“Officers at Essex County Council had already planned to continue its review of the Ringway Jacobs contract as we enter year seven of the partnership.

“At that same council meeting, I announced an additional £3million revenue funding for 2018/19 to fix issues such as potholes.

“On top of this, the Department for Transport has since announced that it would be giving Essex £2.6million in pothole funding for the next year. This increase has already seen an additional ten crews on the network fixing issues arisen as a result of the recent cold weather. Please report any issues you do see on the roads to essexhighways.org”