A POTHOLE patrol is the latest weapon in the battle to keep the county's roads in good order.

Improving road maintenance has become a top priority for Worcestershire County Council, which has adopted the new highway inspection system as part of a new code of practice for maintenance management.

The new system involves inspecting roads more often and in much more detail, with inspectors patrolling in distinctive white vehicles, ready to identify trouble spots and alert contractors to the need for repairs.

Inspections

There are 600 miles of roads to be maintained in the Malvern Hills District alone, where the inspectors are John Williams, Ben Sparrow and Candice Key.

"Our inspectors carry out regular inspections of the roads and under the new code of practice we will increase the frequency of the inspections to raise the standard," said Malvern Hills Highways Partnership manager Mike Davis.

"We will also investigate if someone reports a pothole. The new vehicle will carry cones and signs in case we come across anything that could be dangerous," he said.

"The new pothole patrol vehicle is quite large and distinctive, because we want it to be safe and to be seen as it will be travelling around fairly slowly."