Devon councils receive £10m for pothole repairs

More than £10m will be given to Devon's councils to fix and repair potholes.

The government has allocated £200m for local authorities in England to make the repairs.

It said Devon County Council would receive more than £9m, Plymouth City Council more than £430,000 and Torbay Council around £360,000.

Devon County Council said it welcomed the cash, which would enable the authority to make necessary repairs.

The authority told BBC News it had already set aside more than £7m for pothole repairs for the next financial year.

Last month, Plymouth City Council said it was likely to spend about £230,000 above the budget of £470,000 for fixing potholes in 2010/11 and Torbay Council said it needed £30m to mend its roads.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: "Potholes are a menace to all road users and I want councils to make fixing them a priority.

"That is why, when more funding became available, I agreed with the chancellor that we would double the amount of money we are providing for repairs to be carried out."

The chancellor said in his budget speech that £100m was being allocated to councils in England to fill potholes which have appeared in roads during the winter.

This was on top of the announcement three weeks ago of an initial £100m to deal with the problem.