BOLTON Council spent £1million on pothole repairs last year – a 50 per cent increase on the year before.

Highways bosses say they need to spend even more money to keep on top of the problem across the borough.

The council recently received a £16 million boost from central government — which will be used over the next six years — to tackle potholes.

Cllr David Chadwick, Bolton Council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “These figures show how hard the highways team is working to repair potholes.

"I would love us to have the money to carry out more repairs, but the amount of money we have been given by central government is not sufficient for the £80 million backlog of roadworks in the borough.

“If we got £80 million, the roads in Bolton would be great. But at the moment we are feeding off scraps.

“I have got nothing but admiration for the team that tackles potholes. They go out in all sorts of weather conditions and I think they do a fantastic job — I really appreciate what they are doing."

The figures, released as part of a Freedom of Information request, revealed that £1,049,312 was spent on repairing potholes in Bolton from April, 2013 to March, 2014, compared with £665,731 in April, 2012 to March, 2013 and £650,023 from April, 2011 to March, 2012.

The figures have split opinion – residents say more money should be spent on fixing potholes, while town hall chiefs say the council has performed to the best of its ability given its financial resources.

Jack Brocklehurst, aged 75, of Rigby Lane, Bradshaw, said: “I think this much money has been spent because potholes keep coming back. To me, the council is not digging and filling in the potholes properly.”

Gary Williams, aged 43, of Turton Road, Bromley Cross, said: “I don’t think £1 million is enough to cover the amount of potholes in the borough, not when you see how many streets have them.”

Josh Kay, aged 21, of New Hays Way, Bradshaw said: “It’s encouraging that the council are doing something about potholes but the number of potholes which seem to re-appear suggests they are not repairing them the correct way.”

A council spokesman said: “We are doing everything we can to improve our roads under extremely difficult financial circumstances. The increase in the amount we’ve spent on repairing potholes is because the council agreed to spend an extra £400,000 from 2013 to 2015 on repairing potholes to improve the borough’s roads. We also received additional funding from the government.

“Like other towns and cities across the country, Bolton’s roads have deteriorated due to a reduction in government grants and consecutive cold winters. Snow and freezing conditions have resulted in a significant increase in the number of potholes. While the extra money does not by any means tackle all the work we would like to do, it does help us to tackle some of the backlog we have."

People can report potholes by emailing streetcare@bolton.gov.uk or calling 01204 336600.