Potholes halved on county's roads

Surrey's problems are aggravated by roads on clay, which holds water

The number of potholes has halved in east Surrey after the county council spent millions resurfacing the roads.

Between May and November there were 590 outstanding reports of potholes, compared with 1,115 in the previous six months, the council said.

It brings east Surrey in line with the west, which had 575 outstanding reports in the six months until May.

"Improvements are being made but this is by no means a finished job," said Councillor David Munro.

"We will not be resting on our laurels," he added.

Surrey County Council is spending £16m fixing potholes and other road defects this year and surface-dressing 100 miles (160km) of roads.

It said in April that problems in the county were aggravated by roads built on clay which held water, and lorries using what were originally intended as rural tracks.