New data shows the skyrocketing number of pothole reports and claims being made in Hampshire.

Winter weather has generated a devastating impact and “unprecedented levels” of enquiries, pothole reports, other defects and damage claims, accelerating the highway network’s deterioration, a Hampshire County Council report said.

It has been released to show the progress of the Stronger Roads Today campaign, which aims to improve the condition of roads in Hampshire by dealing with issues such as potholes.

The document shows by the end of July the number of “pothole-related enquiries”, including reports and damage claims, had risen by 45 per cent compared to the whole of 2018, the worst year previously recorded.

By the end of July 2023, 28,080 claims were made to the council.

Figures displayed that in January 2023, the council received the highest number of enquiries, totalling 7,294, compared with 1,617 reported in January 2022.

April and March 2023 were also months with the highest number of reports made, with 5,976 and 5,898, respectively, compared with 932 in April 2022 and 2,048 in March 2022.

Despite the 45 per cent increase, executive lead member for universal services councillor Nick Adams-King said the rise doesn’t cost the council “massive amounts of money”.

He said: “Although the numbers are enormous, we still don’t talk about a massive amount of money out from the budget. Each claim itself tends to be for a relatively small amount. So, it is not a matter of spending tens of millions of billions on claims. Claims aren’t many.”

In July the council invested a total of £22.5 million over three years to repair potholes and other carriageway defects across the county.