THE number of potholes Wiltshire's roads, which cause millions of pounds of damage to vehicles every year, has risen by 30.3 per cent according to data analysed by motorway.co.uk.

Responding to Motorway’s Freedom of Information request Wiltshire Council recorded 7,204 new potholes last year against 5,528 in 2018.

Over 100 councils responded to the Freedom of Information request submitted by Motorway in February this year.

Cllr Bridget Wayman, cabinet member for highways, said: “Weather conditions over recent years have caused an increase in the number of potholes both nationally and on Wiltshire’s roads, so we welcome the government’s budget announcement of £500m this year – and £2.5bn over the next five years – to fix potholes.

“While we will have to wait for the exact details, we usually get around two percent of this type of funding, so we would expect around £10m to help fix Wiltshire’s potholes this year."The figures showed Wiltshire was among 16 per cent of councils to report a rise in potholes with Wiltshire being among them.

In comparison, eight out of ten councils report less potholes during the same period. Cllr Wayman went on to say that the county has a backlog of potholes and while the council will be pleased for their share of the funding, it will not be nearly enough.

She added: "Once the weather has improved in the spring, we'll begin our major maintenance highway surfacing schemes, which will run through the summer.

"This programme will see the worst affected roads being addressed in priority order, based on information from our own inspections, plus input from parish and town councils and area boards.

“If people see a pothole on the county's roads, please report it using the My Wiltshire reporting system through the smartphone app or on our website.”