WORCESTERSHIRE Highways has today launched its £4 million surface dressing programme.

Around 300 roads, covering 154 miles of carriageways throughout the county are included in the works, which are scheduled to run until August.

Jon Fraser, county council community relationship and engagement officer, said: "Worcestershire County Council is making a significant investment in the county's highways to repair pot holes and resurface the roads.

"Surface dressing is a great cost effective way of maintaining our county's roads, and is efficient as it can be done quickly, thus helping to cut down on road or lane closures that cause inconvenience to motorists.

"We know from residents and businesses that improving our highways is a high priority. We aim to maintain our roads to the highest standard and this year's investment is an increase of £0.5m on last year, building on more than £50m that we have invested in the last few years.

"We will also be increasing the amount of chippings that we recycle after the roads have been swept. This year, we anticipate that we will recycle approximately 2,500 tonnes of chippings that we can use again."

The work will commence on Saturday, April 11, covering Broadway and Pershore in the first few weeks, but the schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions.

A letter of warning is to be sent out to residents living nearby where each stage of the works will take place, and signage will be in place in advance of the start date on each site.

After the work is completed, roads can be driven over with care. Any loose chippings on the surface are swept within 24 hours and again after about a week. The road markings are then replaced.

For further information on this year's surface dressing programme visit worcestershire.gov.uk/surfacedressing.