AS motorists have returned to the roads across England in increased numbers, a study by Citroen has uncovered the best and worst maintained local roads across the country.

Some one in 20 English roads are in need of maintenance and the French car maker is urging everyone to prioritise their comfort and well-being while out driving.

The Isle of Wight and the North East top the table of the best roads with as few as one per cent of their local B and C roads in the areas requiring urgent maintenance.

It may have been a bumper year for staycations - with a reported 18 million journeys taken over the August Bank Holiday weekend alone- but it seems that on the whole it's been a rough ride across much of England's road network.

Some of the UK's best-loved beauty spots are accessible via some of the most at-risk roads, including Devon's golden coastlines, Somerset's Chew Valley and the surrounding lakes, or York, the UK's most visited city outside of the capital where 25 per cent of all roads need attention.

The North East in comparison has some of the most well-maintained local roads in England, with five out of the 12 local counties boasting the best roads in the North East.

Souad Wrixen, Citroen UK's marketing director, said: "It's been an unprecedented year for travel up and down England, and while we're sure that the state of the roads hasn't put a dampener on things - we're urging people to prioritise their comfort and well-being at these times."

The study found that some of the best roads were in Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Liverpool, Walsall and Milton Keynes where only one per cent were in need of urgent maintenance.

The worst areas after York included Derby where 19 per cent of roads were classified as in need of urgent repair, Bath, North East Somerset and Devon at 16 per cent, Stockport at 11 per cent and Manchester at 10 per cent.