Work starts on £1m pothole prevention scheme

Northumberland County Council is starting an 18-week anti-pothole programme

A series of pothole prevention works costing more than £1m are due to start.

Northumberland County Council said its roads has suffered last winter due to "exceptionally" wet weather.

The authority approved an 18-week programme of ditch cleaning, channel sweeping and gully cleansing on Tuesday.

Councillor John Riddle said severe weather events were becoming "more common" and the council was "firefighting it in some sense".

It comes as residents in Blyth who were hit by flooding in April are facing another clear up in a street hit by known issues with drains.

'Wettest periods ever'

Weather conditions last year saw drainage systems such as ditches and gullies blocked, resulting in increased flooding and damage to road surfaces.

The council said it would bring in different contractors "to really try and get on top of drainage and gulley cleansing", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Riddle said: "I’m confident that the roads are getting better. 

"If we aren’t to deal with a lot of potholes in the winter, we must keep the water off the roads and this is the start of a solution.

"We have had one of the wettest periods ever and it looks like we’re in for another wet period again."

The council said it had better data on problem gullies and which ones needed closer attention.

"Some of them should be cleaned every three months rather than every three years," Riddle added.