Pothole images paint a grim picture

At the beginning of March, the Gazette launched its Probe into Potholes campaign, in an attempt to improve road surfaces in the area.

As part of this, we have been encouraging readers to let us know the location of major potholes, and we are keen to hear about any more.

However, Northumberland County Council insists it is working to improve the state of the roads.

The authority was recently awarded £1.85million, as part of a £100million national funding package to help repair potholes and other storm damage by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling.

It comes on top of an extra £930,000 Pothole Action Fund grant from the Department for Transport, while the authority has also agreed to plough in an additional £420,000 in contingency funding to improve the condition of the county’s road surfaces.

The current funding is being spent on increased road inspections, extra equipment and resources and a range of repair work, where possible using techniques that provide for a longer-term fix where the damaged patch of road surface is cut out and repaired.

Coun Glen Sanderson said: “The prolonged spell of wintry weather has caused a great deal of damage to our road network.

“I’m pleased we’ve been able to secure extra funding for pothole repairs, because we know how vital our roads are.

“This latest money will allow us to continue our ongoing pothole repair programme across Northumberland, but further support is required to ensure we can repair all of the wider and underlying damage.”