The help of residents in reporting potholes has led to more than 7,000 repairs being made since May 2025.
Leicestershire County Council has seen a sharp increase in reports due to more potholes appearing on the county’s roads.
The increase is down to prolonged wet weather, flooding and years of national underfunding that have left road surfaces and underlying layers more vulnerable to damage.
The county council maintains more than 2,500 miles of roads across towns, villages and rural routes in Leicestershire. This winter, pothole reports have already exceeded previous seasonal levels, with thousands submitted since the turn of the new year.
To manage rising demand, the council is recruiting additional inspectors, increasing capacity to assess reports quicker, prioritise based on safety so that repair teams are sent to the most urgent issues. They will be working across towns, villages and rural routes to keep the network safe.
However, the prolonged saturation of ground conditions means that not only road surfaces, but the base layers, begin to deteriorate. Water is now penetrating deeper into the structure of many roads, weakening foundations and making new defects more likely to form.
A combination of storms, heavy rainfall, repeated ‘freeze–thaw cycles’ and sub zero temperatures has placed exceptional strain on roads.
January and February this year has seen rain on more than half of days, with councils across the country are experiencing similar issues linked to increasingly severe weather impacting fragile road surfaces because of long term under investment.
These weather patterns accelerate damage when water enters small cracks, weakens layers below the surface, and expands when frozen.
Continued wet conditions also delay repairs, as some treatments require dry conditions to be effective.
Despite the challenges, the council continues to take a year round preventative approach, focusing on long term resilience, targeted upgrades and measures that protect road surfaces and reduce future defects. Whilst proactive work continues, greater long term investment is needed to make a bigger impact enabling more preventative works to be delivered.
“Storms, flooding and freezing weather have caused more damage, and that’s reflected in the rise in pothole reports. Our teams are working extremely hard to keep up, prioritising safety and aiming for permanent fixes wherever possible.
“I also want to thank residents for reporting potholes to us — it really helps our teams respond quickly and focus on the most urgent issues.
“Please keep reporting potholes to us, we will prioritise repairs, directing teams to the most urgent issues and keeping the network as safe as possible.”
Person:Councillor Adam Tilbury, cabinet member for highways and transport
Residents are encouraged to continue reporting potholes through the council’s online system so issues can be logged, inspected and prioritised. Social media comments help raise awareness but do not create an official repair request.