More than 1,800 potholes reported since May

More than 1,800 potholes have been reported in Warwickshire since May, with the county council pledging a shift towards finding permanent solutions as thousands of previously-reported holes have been re-flagged.

People in Warwickshire are also being told to report potholes directly to the council instead of using a third-party app.

The councillor for transport Stephen Shaw said the revised approaches came after he became fed up of filled-in potholes emerging again.

The authority had negotiated a new contract with repair providers that encouraged permanent fixes, he added.

Shaw said since January, the council had received 10,784 reports of potholes, of which 5,527 had been previously reported.

The council had also been told of 5,257 fresh holes since the beginning of the year, including 1,816 since May.

Shaw said the council was focusing on making sure repairs were lasting.

The authority, he added, had negotiated with contractor Balfour Beatty a new roads contract that included permanent pothole fixes.

"I'm fed up of seeing contractors around Warwickshire just literally chucking some tarmac into a hole, stamping on it and walking away and a few days later, it gets washed out," he said.

"Anything to make our roads better and get them fixed properly. It doesn't matter what depth it is, we'll get them fixed."

Shaw estimated a 30-day turnaround for a pothole fix after an issue was reported.

Resident Jasvir Paddan from Leamington Spa said he reported a pothole in Rugby to the council three weeks ago via the app FixMyStreets, but the hole - which his car hit - had still not been repaired.

Shaw said the best way forward for residents was to use the county council's own website to report holes.

He added the council no longer used FixMyStreet, which is run by charity MySociety and sends reports from the public to councils nationwide.

Promoting the council's in-house online resource, Shaw said: "The council normally responds within five days and it's 30 days for a pothole fix. Last month, we hit 93% permanent fixes.

"I would not go through [the FixMyStreets] app, we don't use that. The first thing is to go on the county council website, report a pothole and click on the link. The second thing is to contact your local councillor."

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