OVER 50 repair gangs have been ordered to fix the damage caused by the recent storms, including potholes.

The plans come after local Liberal Democrat councillors urged Hampshire County Council (HCC) to fix the growing amount of potholes, after finding they had deteriorated “in the last 12 months” due to budget cuts.

Four pothole patching machines and 21 drain cleansing units across the county have also been deployed to tackle the winter weather damage - which was named the "wettest autumn for 100 years" - caused by Storm Dennis, Storm Ciara and Storm Brendan.

Dealing with the damage caused to 5,500 miles of roads has been labelled a "challenge".

Councillor Rob Humby, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment at Hampshire County Council, said: “Following the wettest February since records began, three significant storms, and a month’s worth of rain so far in March, it’s certainly a challenge dealing with the resulting damage on Hampshire’s 5,500 miles of roads.

"We have additional highways resources deployed all across the county, who are working hard to keep roads clear of water, debris and damage for all who use them - in order to keep Hampshire moving.

"Our teams are covering a huge range of work, from fixing potholes to cutting back damaged trees on bus routes."

The plans are in addition to the council's routine annual highways maintenance work, which includes £10 million annual road resurfacing, bridge repair and drainage improvement programme to make Hampshire more resilient to the effects of extreme weather and heavy traffic.

The work will include re-cutting grips between roads and ditches in order to clear water from the roads more quickly, jetting blocked highway drains and clearing storm debris from culverts.

Councillor Humby added: "I believe we do a good job with the funding we have, but the money only goes so far, and the recent wet weather and flooding has added significantly to the damage and deterioration of the road network.

“The reality is, that we can only work with what we have, and we must prioritise how we allocate highways work, including sometimes having to carry out temporary repairs to make a road safe, and fixing defects on busier roads first. It can also be difficult in some cases to make an effective permanent repair in such wet conditions where groundwater levels are exceptionally high."