Councils fielding January surge in pothole reports

Hundreds more reports of potholes and other highways defects have been reported in January than in the same month in 2025, some councils have said.

East Sussex Highways said more than 3,700 potholes were reported in January 2026, up from about 2,310 the previous January.

Brighton & Hove City Council said it received 308 reports of defects to highways - including roads, footpaths and barriers - in January 2025, but 950 reports of potholes alone in January 2026.

The city's cabinet member for transport, Trevor Muten, said freeze-thaw conditions and rainfall "did cause some problems" but the council had also "encouraged residents to report a pothole".

Southern England has had one of its wettest Januarys on record, according to the Met Office.

East Sussex engineer Harry Hillman, who used to work filling potholes, said he thought more holes had opened due to recent rain, and that roads in his area needed resurfacing.

"They keep putting patches on them but once the water gets in, and then you get a cold night, it freezes and the tarmac just pops out," he said.

Duncan Blinkhorn, project coordinator of the Brighton Bike Hub, said if cyclists "hit some of these deeper holes it can be really catastrophic", particularly if going quickly or downhill.

"It's always a problem, I feel for councils who are dealing with it," he said.

"It's like whack-a-mole for them, isn't it? As soon as they sort one out another one pops up."

Muten told the BBC: "It's a safety issue, it's important to us, we want to prioritise that.

"We want people to tell us about where the problem is so we can go and look at it", he said, adding that the authority had "stepped up" its resurfacing programme.

East Sussex Highways said it prioritised its repairs "based on the size and location of the pothole, among other criteria", otherwise repairs would "place an even greater burden on council taxpayers".

The council department said "consistent and significant rainfall across the county as well as freezing temperatures" had caused the problem.

Kirstie Brown told the BBC she had "damaged so many tyres and so many wheels" on potholes in Hartlip, Kent, near her business.

Cyclist Sean Farley said he went over his bicycle's handlebars and hit his head after striking a pothole in the area.

"I've actually come along here to take photographs of these holes because they are lethal," he told the BBC.

Medway Council said "reactive repairs and proactive maintenance have to be prioritised" due to available funding but that it had improved its programme of road repairs in 2025.

The government rated all Kent and Sussex councils as amber on its first road maintenance ratings in January, based on road conditions and how well government funds were used.

The Department for Transport said south-east councils must use £1.5bn of government funding to "plan ahead and deliver safer, smoother journeys, and we will hold them to account on their progress".

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