Somerset roads hit by 62 per cent pothole surge

By Laura Linham 27th May 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 27th May 2026

Somerset's roads are on the long road to recovery after a winter pothole surge, the council says.

Somerset Council said 19,277 potholes were logged between January and Thursday, 8 May 2026, compared with 11,908 in the same period last year.

That is a rise of nearly 62 per cent.

The council said its highways teams and contractor Kier have repaired 15,771 of the potholes reported so far this year.

That works out at an average of 876 repairs a week.

In March alone, 4,964 potholes were repaired across the county.

Extra teams and machinery were brought in earlier this year after one of the wettest winters on record in the South West caused a sharp rise in potholes and other road defects.

Somerset Council said preventative work is also being carried out to stop more potholes forming.

So far this year, 831,000 sq m of road has been surface dressed.

A further 31,000 sq m has been resurfaced through a major programme, including the stretch of the A38 between Wellington and Taunton.

Councillor Richard Wilkins, Somerset Council's lead member for highways and transport, said: "There is always more to do but this is a great effort by all concerned.

"It was incredibly daunting at the start of the year with the situation described as a pothole pandemic.

"Thanks to the hard work of our teams this is turning around.

"But it's not just about filling in potholes, it's about the major programmes of preventative works, surface dressing and resurfacing which is taking place across the county.

"Please keep reporting any problems you see, but hopefully you will start to see a huge difference."

Figures released by the council show 4,711 potholes were logged in January, 6,068 in February, 5,035 in March and 2,905 in April.

Repair figures stood at 2,541 in January, 3,554 in February, 4,964 in March and 3,739 during the four-week April period.

Residents can report road problems through Somerset Council's "Report a problem on the road" webpage.