Somerset: Millions given to council with pothole backlog

The council says the increase in road defects comes after a year of extreme weather conditions

An extra £5.4m of funding will be used to fix potholes and other road maintenance issues in Somerset.

The government money comes after a year of difficult weather conditions for the road network.

On Tuesday, a major incident was declared after the county was hit by heavy rainfall and flash flooding.

Councillor Mike Rigby said the funding would help the council "tackle the growing maintenance backlog" and "take preventative action" to protect roads.

As Somerset Council's lead member for transport and digital, Mr Rigby said the local authority would assess damage and schedule repairs over the next three months, "operating on a priority basis".

The council said there were 4,347 safety defects reported in the county in January alone - nearly 50% up on the same month in 2022.

A major incident was declared on Tuesday following flash flooding in Somerset

The council said the increase was down to the "blistering summer followed by a winter of sustained flooding and freezing temperatures... with standing water getting under the surfaces and then freezing."

Other planned work includes targeted operations to tackle the 20 worst roads within the county and a programme seeking to address areas of defective carriageway, including depressions, crazing and crocodile cracking.