The latest weapon in the fight against potholes has been unleashed on Preston’s roads.

Lancashire County Council are using a machine with a technique called spray injection patching.

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The machine can make an average of 60 repairs a day to all kinds of road defects.

Lead member for highways and transport county councillor Andrew Snowden said: “The alternating spells of wet followed by cold weather we’ve had over the winter have created the perfect conditions for potholes to appear.

“Our highway teams have been working in all weathers to fix them, but it has been hard going at times as the wet and icy conditions have made it very difficult to make lasting repairs.

“As the warmer weather arrives and our annual programme of resurfacing begins I hope people will really see the difference as we get on top of the repair backlog and deal with the winter damage.

“One of the ways we’re trying to make progress as quickly as possible is by using these spray injection machines which are very efficient and an excellent preventative tool to stop pothole problems from forming in the first place.

“We’ve already had four of these machines working over recent weeks, and now have six which will be with us until mid-October when the winter weather arrives again and they can no longer operate as effectively.”

Read more: Here’s all the Preston roads and pavements due for repair

The machine is due to mainly be used on rural roads across Lancashire.

How does it work?

Compressed air is used to remove all dust, debris and water from the affected area.

Once the road has been cleaned a cold bitumen emulsion is used to seal the defect.

An aggregate mix is then fired at high speed, with another coating of bitumen emulsion to prevent water from getting in.

What do you think about the state of the city’s roads? Let us know in the comments below