Rain delaying fixes to 'record' pothole numbers

Teams of workers in Cornwall are struggling to keep pace with pothole repairs as consistent rain continues to hamper efforts.

Cormac Solutions said it was dealing with a record backlog of about 6,000 road defects after about 11,000 reports of road defects have been made since the start of the year.

The firm's network manager said there weres about 50 teams at work and they were filling about 350 potholes every day.

Cormac Solutions said heavy rain made repairs less likely to last as long and some smaller potholes were getting temporary fixes.

A team of workers turn up to a reported hole at Mount Ambrose, near Redruth, in the pouring rain and they have to put sandbags down to divert the water flowing into the hole.

The team of three have to sweep the water out of the hole several times before they start to cut the road surface around it into a neat square.

As the rain continues to pour they are forced to wait for it to let up because if the repair is done in a waterlogged hole it will not last as long.

The downpour eases and the repair is done using hot tarmac but the team admit it is not ideal because it has been completed in wet conditions.

Cormac is the arms length company that manages the road network for Cornwall Council - this is all roads except the A30 and the A38, which are maintained by National Highways.

Steve Bayley, network manager, said: "I've been dealing with roads for over 30 years and this is the worst I've ever seen it.

"Nationally there's been an under investment in the road network and that's caused some deterioration of road surfaces.

"On top of that we've had a number of storms and after such consistent rainfall the water has just got under the surface.

"We'd like to wait for the drier weather but we have to get on with it and this means we have to undertake repairs in conditions that aren't really suitable."

Stevie Trenoweth, who works on one of the teams that fixes the potholes, said: "The rain has been relentless.

"This makes it hard to do the hot lay because the water makes it pop out of the hole not long after we put it down.

"That's why we're having to use cold lay bags sometimes because they bind better with water but it also means the repairs don't last as long.

"We're getting used to working in the rain now but as it keeps raining it's just going to make more potholes, we're doing our best but struggling to keep up."

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