Pothole reports in Telford & Wrekin hit 5,000 in a year

Tens of thousands of pounds is being spent repairing potholes across the county as a whole.

In Telford & Wrekin alone, 5,261 potholes were reported between September 1 last year and August 31, according to new figures.

Almost 1,500 repair jobs were carried out, while four potholes were so serious they needed immediate work.

Telford & Wrekin Council spent £65,529 on potholes during the year, and while the authority aims to carry out all repairs within 20 working days, there were almost 900 which took longer to fix.

Shropshire Council did not have specific figures for pothole repairs but said the costs were included in its £13 million bill for highways repairs in the past financial year.

Councillor Shaun Davies, Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet member for business, neighbourhood and customer services, said: "Most of the 5,000 pothole reports came from inspections that our staff carried out as part of their day-to-day management of the highway.

"By identifying and repairing these potholes we can ensure that we have very few claims for damage or injury as a result of potholes.

We are working with our contractor to improve the response time for repairing potholes in the borough's highways. We take a risk assessment-based approach to repairs and those that are most dangerous are carried out immediately.

"We would encourage our residents to report potholes when they see them."

A spokesman for Shropshire Council said potholes are repaired within the appropriate response time as determined by the Highway Inspection Manual, which varies from 24 hours to 20 working days.

Last year the Shropshire Star revealed compensation bills paid by Telford & Wrekin Council and Powys County Council for damage caused to cars by potholes dropped significantly over the previous three years.