BLAENAU Gwent's roads are so riddled with pot holes it would take 43 years to clear the backlog of repairs.

A report delivered to Blaenau Gwent's executive committee today reveals the appalling condition of Valleys roads, with the highways department identifying up to 3,000 "highway defects" each year.

The council were given the go-ahead at today's meeting to borrow for a £5.8 million investment programme which would tackle the backlog.

The report says that insufficient funding and two harsh winters have taken their toll on the 416kms of roads, with 2,000-3,000 potholes and "highway defects" currently reported each year.

The situation is now so bad that, at the current level of funding, it would take an estimated 43 years to sort out the backlog.

In an attempt to stop the decline, the report proposes that the council borrows £5.8 million for a three-year highways improvement scheme from a either the Public Works Loan Board or a market lender, and paid back over 30 years.

Worst effected roads would be top of the council's priority list and work would start in August.

The council said it would expect a road that has been resurfaced to last up to eight years, while a stretch that has been reconstructed can last between 10 and 15 years, however it would not provide information on the previous budget allocation for road repairs.

In Cwmtillery, the worst two roads are Attlee Avenue and Brace Avenue.

Attlee Avenue resident Donna Jones, 44, said: "They keep patching it up, but I think they're just wasting their time because as soon as it rains or snows it opens all the holes back up again. We would be pleased to see it resurfaced."

Fellow resident Stephen Jones said the pot holes were so bad they had damaged his car two years running.

Mr Jones, 50, said: "It's cost me £150 to get it fixed again this year, and it was the sort of thing the mechanic said should last a lifetime."

Local community councillor Bernard Wall, 61, has lived between Attlee Road and neighbouring George Daggar's Avenue all his life.

He said: "Attlee and Brace Avenue are on the bus routes, and the people on the those routes think they're on a rollercoaster.

"The roads should be a priority."

The worst roads in the borough are: Oak Street and Vivien Street, Abertillery; Attlee Avenue and Brace Avenue, Cwmtillery; Richmond Road and Cwm Farm Road, Six Bells; Cemetery Road and Brynhyfryd/Brynheulog, Llanhilleth; Alma Street and Warwick Road, Brynmawr; Queen Street and New Road, Nantyglo; Abertillery Road (Queens to Tilers) and Victoria Street, Blaina; Gwaun Helyg Road and Darby Crescent, Ebbw Vale north; Bangor Road and Queensway, Beaufort; HoneyField Road and Rassau Road, Rassau; Brynawelon and Heol-ael-y-Bryn, Badminton and Bryn Deri, Drysiog Street, Ebbw Vale south.