The number of potholes across Sussex has soared in the last year.

Data released in Freedom of Information requests by campaign group Round Our Way revealed that the number of potholes in West Sussex more than trebled from 2022 to 2023.

In West Sussex, 7,152 potholes were recorded in 2022. From January to November 2023, 23,392 had been recorded.

There was also an increase in East Sussex, where pothole numbers rose by more than 13,000 from 17,204 in 2022 to 30,552 in 2023.

"Potholes are the bane of many of our lives and put drivers, cyclists and even pedestrians at risk of serious injury," says Roger Harding, director of Round Our Way.

"The weather extremes that climate change brings are sadly creating many more of them at a time when cuts mean repairs are already not keeping up."

A West Sussex County Council (WSCC) spokesman said: “In 2022, West Sussex experienced one of its hottest summers, which was then followed by higher-than-average rainfall from September to January combined with extremely cold periods in the winter months. These extreme fluctuations in the weather caused repeated expansion and contraction of the road surfaces, which led to a higher-than-normal number of potholes forming.

“In 2023 we repaired approximately 33,000 potholes across our 4,000km of road network.

“Road users can report potholes using our online form. Please provide as much detail as you can about the size and exact location to help us respond quickly.” 

The Argus: Potholes were worsened by the winter of 2022/23, councils saidPotholes were worsened by the winter of 2022/23, councils said (Image: The Argus)

East Sussex County Council’s highways team said it repaired 15,495 potholes from January to November 2022 – and 27,958 in the same period in 2023.

It echoed the concerns about weather that WSCC mentioned.

An East Sussex Highways spokeswoman said: “We are responsible for more than 2,000 miles of road so prioritise our work, according to locally approved policies, to ensure potholes that present the greatest danger to road users are repaired as quickly as possible.  People can find out how and when we repair potholes and report potholes to us directly via our website at www.eastsussexhighways.com.

“We recently invested an additional £15.7 million in the county’s road network focussing on preventative maintenance to stop potholes and other defects appearing in the first place through schemes such as resurfacing.”