HAMPSHIRE road chiefs have pledged to spend more money mending potholes which have increased due to the severe winter.

They have earmarked at least £1m from reserves for urgent repairs to cracked roads.

The authority spent £1m filling in about 30,000 potholes last year on top of £55m for routine repairs.

Environment chief Cllr Mel Kendal says the road gangs or “pothole busters” will be out again in force.

He said: “February’s exceptionally cold weather has again raised the pothole problem which would have been much worse if not for some of the previous excellent work done by our pothole buster gangs and so we need to move quickly to repair that damage.”

Cllr Kendal said roads were regularly inspected but urged residents to report any potholes to the council.

He said: “We will respond to all reports of potholes, fixing the worst ones first. This extra money will ensure that fixing potholes and keeping the roads safe and in good condition gets the attention if needs.”

The AA has warned the number of potholes across the UK could have increased by 40 per cent because of the bad weather.