The council scrutiny committee earmarked �31m for road maintenance - but expressed concern because residents regarded street repairs as a top priority.

The move came as the council struggles to keep next year's council tax rise down after this year's unprecedented rise of 17%.

The rise was one of the highest in England and led to widespread protests by pensioners.

A further cut of �100,000 in traffic management will mean no new parking restrictions or speed limits.

Services threat

However an extra �605,000 will be spent on public transport.

Scrutiny committee chairman John Glanvill said: "In surveys carried out by the council, highway maintenance has consistently come out as a top priority and we councillors know from personal experience that we get more complaints from residents about the state of the roads than any other issue."

The council has warned that service cuts are inevitable if the council tax increase is to be kept in single figures.

Services for the elderly and disabled are particularly under threat as the social services directorate try to trim more than �3m from the budget.