Dorset Potholes Multiply

10 February 2010, 06:00 | Updated: 10 February 2010, 09:21

Drivers are being left to pick up the bill after the number of potholes in Dorset's roads has more than doubled because of the cold weather.

Last month more than 2,000 of them were reported to local councils - twice the number compared to last January.

John Sayers, Principal Engineer, at Poole Borough Council, said:

"Ice and snow on the highway inevitably leads to an acceleration in deterioration of its condition.  In Poole we have seen a marked increase in carriageway damage, requiring us to respond to twice as many defects in January than normal.  Further icy conditions will only exacerbate the problem and place additional pressures on our maintenance budget."

Dorset county council say they have got a £2 million budget to spend on filling them in roads in their area.

Mike, who works at a garage in Bournemouth says drivers are also having to pay out for the damage potholes cause to their cars:

"The weight of the car going down that hole, it just can't have those forces applied to them.

"Most drivers are pretty disappointed when they get the bill from us, some are close to tears in some cases because they don't have that money to spend on their car."