The pothole crisis which hit Sussex should have been dealt with better by local authorities, according to the transport secretary.

The harshest winter in thirty years saw tens of thousands of holes appear in the country's crumbling roads.

After viewing some of the remaining craters in Crawley up close, Lord Adonis claimed West Sussex County Council could have done more to solve the problem.

He told The Argus: “After speaking to the local taxi drivers it is clear that the local Conservative council has not been doing enough.

“Government funding has recently been increased and it is the job of local authorities to keep the roads safe.”

Lord Adonis, who was joined by Labour's parliamentary candidate for Crawley, Chris Oxlade, recently announced an additional £2.4 million would be distributed to the county's three major local authorities.

But West Sussex County Council leader Henry Smith, who is also the Conservative candidate in Crawley, said he was “astounded” by the comments.

Lord Adonis also stated a Conservative government would scale back on transport improvements which have been mapped out by the outgoing Labour government.

The other parliamentary candidates in Crawley are Chris French (Ukip), Andrew Hubner (Independent), Arshad Khan (Justice Party), Philip Smith (Green Party), Richard Trower (BNP) and John Vincent (Liberal Democrat).