Bosses at Suffolk Highways still do not know how much of the £420m promised by Chancellor Philip Hammond in this year’s budget to fix potholes will be coming to the county.

But the news that money is being given to help fix the roads was welcomed by Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Dr Dan Poulter who said that several communities in his constituency were keen to see potholes fixed urgently.

He called on the county council to prioritise essential road repairs in Mendlesham.

Following a recent residents’ survey undertaken by Dr Poulter in the village, the number one concern voiced by residents was the desperately poor state of the roads, in particular Front Street, and the main road from Mendlesham to Stowmarket.

Dr Dan Poulter said “As an MP, one of the most commons issues coming through my mailbox and post-bag are issues relating to highways complaints. This funding boost of £420m in England will allow local authorities to tackle the scourge of potholes and to repair damaged roads.”

“Potholes are a danger to all road users, causing damage to vehicles and accidents and having seen for myself the incredibly poor state of the roads in and around Mendlesham, I would urge Suffolk County Council to prioritise repairs in this area, particularly before we head fully into the longer, darker days and nights of the winter months.”

But he said other parts of his constituency were also badly affected – especially urban areas on the Whitton and Whitehouse estates of north west Ipswich.

He said: “These parts of the town do sometimes get overlooked but I am aware that there are some very poor roads in the area around the Defoe Road and St Pancras school especially.”

A spokeswoman for Suffolk County Council said the authority had become aware that the money would become available after the weekend reports – but they still had not heard how much they would be getting to help ease the pothole crisis.

At the start of the year the council took out a £21m loan to pay for four years of road repairs in a bid to cut the number of potholes that develop – but the last cold winter followed by a long hot summer has helped create ideal conditions for new potholes and with colder days arriving the number is expected to rise again.