Bath and North East Somerset had almost a dozen bridges unfit for the heaviest vehicles on its roads last year, new figures show.

Motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, which carried out the analysis, expressed concerns over the impact of severe weather and a shortage of engineering skills.

Figures obtained by the organisation through freedom of information requests show there were 10 substandard bridges in Bath and North East Somerset at the end of 2023. These bridges cannot carry the largest 44-tonne lorries allowed on the nation’s roads.

They accounted for 7% of the 135 bridges in the area.

Steve Gooding, RAC Foundation director, said: "As ever, we are grateful to all the authorities who answered our questions.

"This data should not be used as a stick to beat highway authorities with but seen as a weathervane which indicates the way the highway condition wind is blowing."

The organisation analysed 201 responses from the 208 local highways authorities in England, Scotland and Wales.

Between the responses, 2,928 (4%) of the total 73,208 road bridges were substandard.

Some were substandard because they were built to earlier design standards, while others have deteriorated through age and use.

Devon was the local authority area with the most substandard bridges at 222.