Sharp increase in West Berkshire pothole reports

West Berkshire Council has seen a sharp increase in reports of potholes

Motorists have reported 16 times as many potholes on a district's roads than during the same period last year.

West Berkshire Council's budget meeting on Wednesday heard 1,881 potholes were reported between January and February this year.

In 2023, the figure for the same period was 116.

Portfolio holder for highways, housing and sustainable travel Denise Gaines said the council had spent "£400,000 more fixing these in this administration than in the last three years".

She added that big potholes were being fixed within three days.

The council said it will normally repair potholes that have a 1.96in (5cm) vertical edge and are 11.81in (30cm) wide, but each pothole is assessed using a risk-based approach.

It has published diagrams of what sort of potholes will get fixed, and it has an interactive map on its website showing where they have been reported, giving them each a serial number.

Some £8.5m has been set aside to improve roads and footpaths in West Berkshire next year.

Signage improvement gets £55,000, and £255,000 goes to footway improvements.