HAMPSHIRE County Council repaired 120,000 potholes over the last financial year after securing extra funding from the Government.

The local authority has delivered an extensive programme of road repairs to tackle the problem of roads damaged by flooding following the harsh winter of 2013/14.

The county council was awarded a total of £17.5million from the Government’s Flood Recovery and Pothole Repair Fund to repair potholes, carriageways and bridges.

Councillor Seán Woodward, the county council’s executive member for economy, transport and environment, said: “Hampshire County Council has shown it is one of the leading areas in the country in its determination to beat potholes, and received substantial government funding as a result. This money has been a great help in reducing potholes but there is always more work to be done.

“We are always looking at effective ways of using our resources and innovative ways of working to ensure Hampshire’s roads are repaired and improved as efficiently as possible, making us more prepared for whatever the weather brings in the future.”

Around £6m of the total received by the Government was used solely to repair potholes at junctions, roadside edges, joints and large patching, on top of the annual highways maintenance budget of £56m which is used to look after Hampshire’s 5,280 miles of road.

Throughout 2013/14, additional work was also undertaken in flood prone areas such as checking, clearing and repairing drains, with around 80,000 gullies cleaned by the autumn and nearly 140 maintenance and improvement schemes completed.

David Ogden, account director at Amey, which is the county council’s highways maintenance contractor, said: “We have worked closely with our employees and supply chain over the past year to trial new techniques and ways of working to maximise the number of potholes repaired.

“This has included deploying additional resources, introducing new products and using technology to deliver the Council’s extensive road repair programme more efficiently. Due to the success of the trials, some of these techniques will continue to be used in the future.”