Rejected pothole machine given a second chance

The Pothole Pro has been put through its paces on the A158 near Wragby

A pothole-fixing machine is being trialled on damaged roads in Lincolnshire, despite it being rejected previously after tests.

The Pothole Pro cuts out sections of road around potholes for neater repairs, with manufacturer JCB claiming it works up top four times quicker than traditional methods.

Lincolnshire County Council conducted a nine-week pilot of the technology in 2021, before turning it down because engineers "found better tools".

But Sean Matthews, the Reform UK leader of the authority, said a longer trial would "give it a genuine go".

"We really want to find out whether it works or not. I don't know the answer but I'll be happy either way," he added.

The 12-month trial can be extended or cut short, depending on the results, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor Richard Davies, the opposition leader, said the machine had been trialled "with mixed results" when he held the highways portfolio in the previous Conservative administration.

"In very urban areas, it has some advantages, but the reality is that because it drives so slowly between locations you need to put it on a trailer," he added. "You still need support vehicles, extra crew."

Councillor Sean Matthews says the technology deserves a longer trial

Councillor Martin Christopher, a Liberal Democrat, said: "The likelihood is that this isn't going to work for us in quite the same way as the existing models at the moment."

The Reform UK administration hopes a longer trial will test the machine's effectiveness in urban areas and make use of county council depots to cut down on transport times.

In March this year, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage praised JCB during a party rally before local elections, when he arrived for his speech on one of the UK firm's vehicles.

At the time, Farage said potholes were the "perfect symbol for broken Britain".

The Pothole Pro also made an appearance at the party's conference earlier this month, when deputy leader Richard Tice, the MP for Boston and Skegness, described it as a "fantastic machine".

However, Matthews said the new trial was "not about Nigel Farage", but about "fixing the roads in Lincolnshire".

"It's not about JCB, who is, by the way, the market leader, so why wouldn't you go for the best bit of kit?" Matthew said. "If it doesn't work, we won't have it."

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