A CALL for Somerset County Council to do more to reduce the number of potholes in local roads and the cost of repairing them was made this week.

It came from one of Wellington’s county councillors, John Thorne, who is also a town councillor.

The county’s highways maintenance partner, Swedish firm Skanska, has a seven-year contract to 2024 which requires it to reduce the number of potholes which need attention.

But an average of 18,000 potholes are still being repaired each year at an estimated cost in 2018-19 of £3.66 million.

Cllr Thorne said: “If you do the maths, each pothole works out as costing about £203 to repair on average and I think we need to try to bring this figure down, so we have more money available to keep on top of necessary maintenance and safety work.

“It is an issue on which I campaigned for election last year and I am keen to see if there are better ways of dealing with this scourge on our roads."

For the full story, see this week’s Wellington Weekly News.