Government shells out £100m for pothole menace

Roads badly affected by The Beast from the East will benefit from a further £100 million to help repair any potholes and other storm damage, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has announced.

This money will help repair almost two million potholes as well as help protect the roads from any future severe weather. This is on top of the £75 million in government funding already given to councils from the Pothole Action Fund this year, as well as the additional £46 million boost for highways authorities announced just before Christmas. Around seven million potholes will be filled due to this money, announced in the 2016 Budget.

"People rely on good roads to get to work and to see friends or family. We have seen an unusually prolonged spell of freezing weather which has caused damage to our local roads," said Grayling.

"We are giving councils even more funding to help repair their roads so all road users can enjoy their journeys without having to dodge potholes."

However, it is estimated that more than £10bn and 12 years' work would be needed to bring the UK road networks up to the same level as Holland.