Council says 10,000 potholes have been fixed in four and a half months

Shropshire Council said that in total, 10,357 defects have been tackled since April 19 – an average of more than 500 per week – with more being repaired every day.

The authority said 96 per cent of the repairs are permanent ‘right first time’ repairs, compared to 25 per cent 18 months ago.

Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways, said: “These figures are really encouraging, and provide evidence of the work we’re carrying out every day to improve the county’s roads.

“There are still are a lot of potholes and other defects in need of attention right across the county, but we’re working hard to tackle them and to make the county’s roads safer for all road users.”

A spokesman for the council said a variety of methods are being used by its crews and its contractor, Kier, to fix the issues.

They include the 'Texpatch' process, which is being used to treat urban roads and provides a "longer-lasting, smoother, neater finish compared to traditional pothole repairs".

A spokesman for the council said: "Work is also carried out using the new Mulithog road planer which treats potholes and other defects more quickly and effectively, reduces the likelihood of potholes forming in the short-to-medium term and cuts down on the need for road closures.

"And four Roadmaster vehicles are being used to carry out jet-patching on rural roads. Roadmasters use compressed air to blow water or dirt out of a pothole that needs repairing and then fill it with hot bitumen and chippings. The repair is compacted by a roller and sealed with a layer of surface dressing – meaning a better quality of repair.

"More traditional repairs by gangs are also carried out."