HIGHWAYS bosses have welcomed a £1.8million investment to deal with potholes.

Essex County Council has secured the cash from the national Pothole Action Fund.

It comes as county council figures are released, showing the number of potholes on local roads dropped from 4,954 to 3,961, over the past six months.

County Hall bosses say between July and December, crews fixed more than 3,200 potholes.

Eddie Johnson, Essex county councillor responsible for highways and transport, said: “With more than 5,000 miles to look after across Essex, it is important we keep key routes in the best condition possible to keep Essex residents and businesses moving.

“But this should not be at the expense of our local road network and I am delighted to see our push for improvements on local roads has made a real difference.

“We have teams out on a daily basis fixing potholes across the county this winter.

“This complements our long-term approach to improving our roads.”

County council figures show two per cent of priority roads require work while 12 per cent of local roads are still in need.

The latest road condition survey, which includes laser survey data from all Essex roads, shows that only 2 per cent (down from 6 per cent in 2013) of priority routes require maintenance, and local roads are down from the target level of 13 per cent to 12 per cent.

To report a highways issue, please visit www.essex.gov.uk/highways.