Pothole busters

MEET the pothole busters — a new rapid response service to tackle holes in the road, launched by Oldham Council.

An extra £60,000 has been allocated in the authority’s budget to set-up Pothole Mole, a specialist repair team.

The public can report dangerous potholes to a special hotline number on 0161-770 1685 from today.

Even when a report is called in outside normal office hours, the details will be taken by the council’s First Response staff and passed on to the new unit.

Councillor Mark Alcock, Cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, said: “Within the Oldham borough and across the country, the road network is struggling from a lack of funding and a major consequence is that potholes are costing UK motorists an estimated £320 million a year — not to mention all the untold misery that goes with it.

“We have examined how we deal internally with reports of potholes.

Red tape

“In particular, we look at the ways we can cut back on red tape and paperwork — and this new service will deliver a faster responsive service to residents.

“If anyone wants a pothole repaired, they should now report it on our 24-hour hotline number — then let our Pothole Mole maintenance team do the rest.”