Jetpatcher helps fix potholes in East Sussex

East Sussex County Council repaired more than 65,000 potholes in 2014.

New figures show a total of 65,144 potholes were repaired by the local authority last year, including almost 25,000 in the last three months of the year.

The figure of 65,144 potholes fixed in 2014 marked an increase of 907 on the 64,237 repaired in 2013.

The council’s efforts were boosted by the introduction in October of the Jetpatcher, a device which cleans out crevices with a blast of high-pressure air before filling them with a mixture of sand and bitumen.

Roger Williams, East Sussex County Council head of highways, said: “The freezing winter we experienced two years ago meant that 2013 was an exceptionally bad year for our roads.

“To have actually increased the number of potholes we fixed in 2014 compared to the previous year is a major achievement and testament to the hard work of all our crews.

“New technology can help us to do more, and the Jetpatcher enabled us to repair more than twice as many potholes in the last three months of the year, with roughly the same number of roads gangs and at a fraction of the cost.

“Repairing potholes quickly and efficiently enabled us to ensure the roads were in a good condition ahead of the onset of the wintry weather we’re currently experiencing.”

A total of 24,213 potholes were fixed in the last three months of the year, compared to 10,494 in the same period in 2013.

With the Jetpatcher, each pothole costs £13.80 to repair, compared to £60 using traditional methods.