The Transport Secretary is being urged to come up with an extra £5 million to help Devon County Council repair potholes and damage to the road network caused by severe winter weather.

Neil Parish, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, has written to Justine Greening asking her to continue to give Devon extra grant funding so it can stay on top of the problem.

The county, which has the biggest road network of any county in England, has received £12.9 million in Winter Damage Grants from the Department for Transport in the last two years.

This cash is currently helping to fund about 800 road report schemes across Devon, covering 80 miles of roads in more than 50 communities.

Mr Parish said: "It is vital to Devon's economy that the road network is kept in usable condition. The rural nature of Devon and the poor transport infrastructure means that driving is a necessity for many people who rely on the roads to access public services and local businesses.

"I believe that an additional £5 million grant to spend in 2012/13 would allow Devon to target more rural roads and I have been informed by Devon County Council that with this additional funding, they would expect to deliver around 400 schemes."

In 2010, Devon County Council had to repair about 200,000 potholes but last year the figure reduced to 130,000.

Mr Parish said the council had demonstrated what could be achieved with additional financial support.