Bury Council chiefs are to write to the government to request that the road tax collected from the borough's motorists can be spend on upgrading its highways network.

The move comes after a motion tabled by Labour's Jamie Walker at this evening's meeting of the full council was carried.

Cllr Walker told the meeting that there was "no getting away" from the fact that roads have a lifespan and Bury's had suffered from "chronic under-funding by successive Tory governments"

He added: "Many roads are deteriorating badly and the unprecedented bad weather has made matters worse."

And Cllr Walker continued: "To keep the road network as it is we would need £6.5m per year just to stand still. We understand that this chamber doesn't want to stand still, we want to move forward in investing in infrastructure to the standard residents of this borough deserve.

"We need national investment to do so. A frequently asked question is 'I pay my road tax, where does it go'. I've done some digging and it's not in the roads.

He told the chamber that only 11 per cent of Bury motorists' vehicle excise duty payments — still commonly referred to as "road tax" went back into council coffers.

"It's not a magi money tree, it's money already taken from residents of this borough and should be spent on roads in this borough."

The Conservative group tabled an amendment calling on the council to recognise that the £10m earmarked for road repairs over the next three years is "simply insufficient" and proposing a minimum of £25m be spent on highways over the next four years.

The motion said this would be paid for by "significant income generation" which Tory leader James Daly said could be raised through innovating new revenue streams.

But Labour leader Rishi Shori accepted the amendment was "well intentioned" but said it was lacking in detail and would not be financially prudent.

The amendment was defeated when put to the vote.