Potholes are delaying vital blood donation deliveries, a charity has warned.

Warwickshire and Solihull Blood Bikes said it was delayed when one of its riders burst a tyre on a pothole, which resulted in a repair bill of almost £900.

The charity delivers blood and other urgent provisions including breast milk and medical equipment on behalf of the NHS.

The accident, which took place in Birmingham on Wednesday evening, meant the rider involved couldn't complete the job.

Jonathan Smith, fleet manager, told the BBC that another of the group's bikes hit a pothole just three weeks beforehand.

He said: "It happens to the best of riders, it's one of the hazards of motorcycles.

"The problem is, you can avoid what you can, but if they're not visible, you can't avoid it."

Wednesday's accident resulted in another vehicle needing to pick up the blood and breast milk that was being transported.

A blood drop-off had already been made to Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham when the pothole was struck, creating a delay of about 45 minutes to the planned onward journey to Solihull for further blood delivery and Coventry University Hospital for breast milk.

The rider then had to wait for a recovery vehicle and did not get back to base until 05.30am.

Mr Smith went on to tell the broadcaster: "It's a bit of a nightmare scenario, especially when you're carrying blood and milk.

"We know the hospital in Coventry was fairly desperate for the milk."

Last week, The Telegraph reported on how repairs on pothole-plagued minor roads have fallen to their lowest level on record.

Just under five per cent of all council-maintained local roads in England and Wales received maintenance last year.

This is despite spending on road repairs being at its highest level when adjusted for inflation, for 13 years.

Days after the story was published, Sir Keir Starmer £1.6 billion to fill pothole-plagued roads across Britain.

The Treasury announced in the Budget in October that local road maintenance funding in 2025/26 will be nearly £1.6 billion, representing a £500 million uplift compared with the previous 12 months.

The increase is estimated to be enough to fix the equivalent of around seven million potholes.