New machine brought in to repair Walsall's roads

New machinery has been brought into use by Walsall Council to repairs routes in the borough which have been damaged by potholes.

Transport bosses have been trialling the approach to find a quicker but also robust way to protect surfaces to benefit drivers.

Known as velocity patching the more modern technique has been used on routes such as Bentley Lane, and involves patching roads by forcing material into a hole under high pressure.

The hose is initially used to blast the pothole with air, to clear out dirt, debris and water.

Then using a blend of bitumen and chippings that are passed through a hose at high speed, each repair can be completed in an average time of five minutes.

Under the old conventional methods, potholes are filled with hot asphalt, rolled and sealed. But the council says this can be time-consuming and labour intensive.

They believe the Velocity Patcher is better value for the taxpayer, with an average pothole costing around £20 to be fixed.

This is half of what it costs to repair using the traditional method, but with the same guarantee period.

It comes as the council has been taking action to improve roads after being awarded £700,000 by the Department for Transport's Pothole Repair Fund.

Transport chief, councillor Lee Jeavons, said the innovative equipment means staff can carry out the work quicker to reduce disruption for traffic.

"We've been trialling the Velocity Patcher for about a month now and so far we're very pleased with the results.

"In recent winters we have seen a freeze-thaw-freeze process and last winter was the wettest on record. This has wreaked havoc on our roads and we have seen a rise in the number of potholes as a result.

"And no one needs convincing that potholes are potentially dangerous and damaging to motorists, cyclists and other road users."