WORCESTERSHIRE County Council has unveiled its latest weapon in the constant battle against potholes.

It is a cutting-edge road repair machine called ‘fast-patch’.

The machine is being operated by the authority’s road repair gangs to fix hundreds of potholes across the county, using infra-red technology.

It allows road crews to fix problems far faster than previous methods.

County road workers have been putting the device to good use after the big freeze earlier this year, created thousands of potholes.

For the third year in succession Worcestershire froze last winter and the freeze-thaw cycle inevitably causes holes.

In the last year, about 22,000 potholes have been filled and about another 10,000 road repairs carried out. For the last two months, the fast-patch has been used in both Worcester and the surrounding area to make repairs.

Councillor John Smith, county road chief, said: “This is yet another tool the gangs will be using to fix our roads as quickly and efficiently as is possible.

“Teams using it for the last couple of months say it’s very useful and they’re the ones that have played a part in repairing thousands of potholes already this year so their opinion certainly counts for a lot.”

Anyone who spots a problem on the highway can report it at worcestershire.gov.uk/reportapothole or call the Hub on 0845 607 2005.