Record number of potholes

Thus was the remedy prescribed by SDLP councillor Helen Quigley who has called on Roads Service to purchase more jetpatchers to tackle the backlog.

She made the call after a question tabled at the Stormont Assembly revealed 45,523 potholes were recorded during the first two months of this year, compared with 37694 in 2009, 26600 in 2008 and 26744 in 2007.

Roads Service also revealed they currently operate a fleet of 17 velocity patching machines, but there are no plans to purchase any more despite the massive rise in potholes in the past two years.

Mrs Quigley said: "The harsh winter has merely served to highlight the shocking state of our roads in the city centre as well as in rural areas. There has been a serious lack of investment for a long time and we are now paying the price.

"We need to get a grip of this problem because at the current rate I doubt the backlog of repairs will ever be cleared.

"Velocity patching machines can repair defects in minutes and using this method costs significantly less than having crews of men digging out and refilling holes.

"Local councils in Scotland, where the winter has hit very hard, have been particularly enthusiastic about the use of these pothole busters and I think we need to follow their lead.

"To be fair, we can't blame DRD for the harsh winter and the damage caused by the freeze-thaw cycle, but they must speed up repairs.

"Investing money in our fleet of velocity patching machines is a good move."