ST Helens will receive an extra £1 million to address the borough’s potholes, the government has announced.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced during the autumn Budget last month that an extra £420 million will be made available to local authorities for potholes and other minor road works.

Now, the government has revealed how that money will be allocated in the North West, with St Helens to receive £1,072,000.

St Helens Council leader Derek Long previously said the extra funds was “nowhere near enough”.

After the latest announcement, the Labour council leader said: “As I said following the autumn Budget, St Helens needs a further £5 million a year to restore and maintain our roads and pavements.

“It’s good that there will be some money for potholes, but sorting out our roads will be a long and expensive process, which this funding falls significantly short of.

“I am continuing to work with the Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor to press government to recognise our needs.”

In 2019-2020, the North West will receive more than £139 million from the Local Highways Maintenance and Integrated Transport Block funds.

This will go towards repairing roads and investing in small safety, bus priority or walking and cycling schemes.

Roads Minister Jesse Norman said: “Potholes are a huge problem for all road users, and too often we see issues occurring at the same place time after time.

“That is why the government is investing more in improving our roads than at any time before – £15 billion between 2015 and 2020 and a further £28.8 billion to 2025.

“Plus an immediate extra £420 million for potholes and local road maintenance just this year.

“The North West will be getting an extra £53 million this winter to keep its roads in good condition to keep drivers and cyclists safe.”