ALMOST £1 million was allocated in Newport City Council's budget to fix potholes in 2021 and beyond.

At the start of the year the council allocated £500,000 to deal with the issues, but a spokeswoman said the organisation was later given £430,000 to "undertake a significant programme of work" that is currently ongoing.

Between April 2020 and March 2021, Newport City Council received more than 600 complaints about potholes.

The year before that, the council had received 716 complaints.

A spokeswoman for the council said: "Potholes are caused by water seepage that damages the road and this is exacerbated during the winter when there is ice and snow.

"When a problem is reported an inspection will take place within five working days and repaired in compliance with the code of practice for highway maintenance management.

"A team of inspectors carries out regular inspections of all adopted highways including work carried out by utility companies.

"Repairs are done as part of planned highways works or in response to problems that arise."

It is not known how much of this budget has been spent - a Freedom of Information request has been submitted to the council in an effort to find out.

The council is optimistic that the increased budget will help them improve the state of the roads in Newport by dealing with potholes efficiently.

Cllr Roger Jeavons, deputy leader and cabinet member for city services, said: "We have been able to significantly increase the budget for tackling potholes this year thanks to the settlement from the Welsh Government which was more positive than expected.

"Our crews are now out every week targeting specific areas.

"Residents will be notified when work is being carried out in their road and I urge them to help us by following the advice so the teams can do the repairs as quickly and efficiently as possible."