Extra £2m to tackle potholes

Council bosses have been given £2 million extra to help mend potholes on Staffordshire roads.

It comes shortly after Stafford councillor Angela Loughran expressed anger over the amount of potholes crippling the town's car parks and brings the total amount to spend on repairs up to £6 million.

Councillor Loughran said last month that the car parks behind Marks & Spencer and in North Walls were "shocking" — a situation she said was the case long before the severe weather.

She added that urgent repairs were needed in these areas.

The extra £2 million secured by Staffordshire County Council follows the announcement last month that the council was investing an extra £2 million to fight potholes as well as the Government providing £2 million as part of an initial £100 million national investment package - a figure since doubled in the Budget.

County Councillor Mike Maryon, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: ""People regularly tell us that the condition of local roads is their single biggest issue

"Since the start of March, 10 dedicated crews have been out in force across the county carrying out permanent repairs.

"We have lobbied hard to secure extra Government funding to fight the affects of the severe weather on our roads.

"Our arguments have proved successful. The Government has listened to our case that we are one of the largest counties in the country with over 2,000 miles of roads.

"This additional Government funding will enable us to further increase our efforts and make a real impact on our roads.

"Additionally 80 per cent of our roads are rural and more susceptible to pothole damage."

The council says highways teams have already repaired more than 2,000 road defects since they started a 10-week blitz earlier this month.