THE potholes in the road near the Jet Station garage on the A325 in Whitehill, could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a scheme by the Hampshire County Council.

Twenty extra gangs of county council "pothole busters" will be blitzing holes in roads across Hampshire in a £1m drive to improve our highways.

In a big boost to roads maintenance this year, the number of gangs filling in potholes in Hampshire is doubling from 20 to 40. The extra work begins this month and runs to the end of the year.

County councillor for Whitehill and Bordon, Adam Carew said: "I went on holiday to Crete this year and the roads were full of potholes, but I had excellent training driving on Hampshire roads.

"The county council officer team do what they can within a limited budget, but there is no question that our roads are full of potholes. Some of our country lanes between Whitehill and Selborne seem particularly bad.

"There is a real lack of cyclical and proactive maintenance of Hampshire roads due to under investment."

The £1m scheme is in addition to the £56m the county council is spending on the highways this year across almost 6,000 miles of Hampshire roads.

Keeping the roads in good condition is a top priority for Hampshire residents, yet recent wetter weather conditions and ever-increasing traffic have resulted in potholes forming faster than usual, so councillors agreed the extra spend to combat this.

Mel Kendal, Hampshire County Council's executive member for environment, said: "We all hate potholes, but the reality is that wetter weather and increased traffic has taken it toll on our roads.

"There are now more potholes forming more quickly than ever before and they are a real irritation for motorists, as well as being a potential hazard.

"Nationally, Hampshire does well in meeting its targets on highways maintenance."

Looking after Hampshire's roads is already a big part of the county council's work with a substantial budget of £56million spent on keeping roads and pavements in good condition, including resurfacing and construction, signs, street lighting, road markings, gritting and other winter maintenance as well as verge cutting, weed control, shrub maintenance and routine repairs.

Mr Kendall added: "We know that fixing potholes is a top priority for our residents and that they want us to be the 'guardians' of the highways.

"The extra money means many more roads can be free of potholes soon."

Residents can also report faults through the county council's contact centre Hantsdirect, which are then followed up through special inspections.

You can report a pothole by calling Hantsdirect on 0845 6035633 or via http://www.hants.gov.uk/highways">www.hants.gov.uk/highways.