Interesting to see reported in the Shropshire Star recently that the cost of repairing potholes in their area is £870,000 each year.

Officials invest a small fortune on roads that fall into disrepair,

The cost for the county’s two councils varies dramatically because they have different lengths of road to maintain.

Shropshire Council spends £700,000 patching potholes across its extensive road network while Telford & Wrekin commits just £170,000 on its smaller network.

Both councils also follow a national code, to make sure the worst potholes are repaired within 24 hours.

A local councillor commented “We undertake safety inspections on adopted roads at least once a year. The busiest roads and areas are surveyed each month, other roads and areas are surveyed less frequently.”

He said: “Once a pothole has been identified, it is assigned a grade related to its risk which sets the timescales for repair.

“The highest risks are repaired within 24 hours however the lowest risk potholes will be repaired as part of our future works programme.”

With the bad weather now setting in, you can be sure that this situation will only become worse before it gets better, as all the recent rain and now the much colder weather, has a dramatic effect on the condition of our roads. Which is where the need for greater observations come to the fore on your driving lessons, the last thing you need is to only see the pothole just as you are about to go into it.