A £30 million investment to prepare and repair rural and residential roads has started in West Sussex.

The 'Better Roads Programme' launched by West Sussex County Council is said to be the biggest investment to be made in the county's road network for years.

The programme is a direct response to residents' frustration about the deterioration of the county's smaller roads.

Because of the extreme weather West Sussex has experienced in the past few years, over one fifth of rural and residential roads are now in need of repair.

More than half of the roads in West Sussex are rural and residential.

The worst of these roads have been prioritised by County Council engineers to create the Better Roads Programme.

Road conditions will be improved and returned to the standard they were a few years ago.

Pieter Montyn, the council's cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "Keeping our roads safe is a priority for us, so we were determined to address the deterioration of our smaller roads.

"By investing this additional £30 million now, it will make our network more resilient and save us money in the long run.

"Once the two-year cycle has been completed, we calculate it will save over a million pounds a year in maintenance costs."

The scheme will run for the next two years and focuses on rural and residential roads only.

This investment is above and beyond the £8.5 million the County Council spends each year on maintaining its road network.

Without adequate investment now, annual maintenance costs will rise and the road condition will still get worse.