Potholes. There seem to be a lot around in Hitchin this winter, with more emerging all the time - but help is at hand.

With the freezing temperatures we've had over the last few weeks our town's roads have been showing the strain from severe weather.

However, to remedy this, millions of pounds of funding to fix potholes up and down the country, including in and around north Herts, has been allocated to local authorities.

The Department for Transport has allocated £500 million to local authorities in England for highways maintenance and funding will go toward ensuring potholes and other road maintenance issues across the country are fixed.

The money means the equivalent of 10 million potholes could be filled in as a result of the cash.

With the average pothole costing around £50 to fill in, the funding will ensure that the equivalent of 10 million potholes can be repaired, making thousands of local roads both safer and easier to drive and cycle on.

Transport Minister Baroness Vere said: "We know potholes are more than just a nuisance – they can be dangerous to drivers and cyclists alike, and cause damage to thousands of vehicles every year.

"The funding allocated today will help councils ensure roads in their area are kept up to standard, and that the potholes that blight road users can be dealt with promptly."

The Department has already invested heavily in pothole filling since 2015, including the £296 million Pothole Action Fund which ran from 2015/16 – 2020/21.

It also topped up highway maintenance investment in 2018 with a one-off £420 million boost to all highway authorities in England, including London.

It is the second instalment from the £2.5 billion Potholes Fund, providing £500 million a year between 2020/21 and 2024/25, announced by the Chancellor in the 2020 Budget – and is part of wider funding the Department provides for road maintenance, totalling over £1.1 billion across England in 2021/22.