THE COUNCIL is to be given a hole lot of cash to bung the potholes that have been driving motorists in the town to despair.

It was announced yesterday that Swindon will be getting a slice of an additional £100m given by the Government on top of the £831m provided already to councils in England.

Over the next four years, the government has also allocated £3billion for the pothole problem.

Last year in the town, Swindon Council filled in 6,088 potholes of the 7,600 reported to them and spent around £150,000 of its road maintenance budget to sort them out.

At this stage, the amount Swindon Council would be entitled to is not known.

One of the conditions on being given cash is councils must publish information on their website showing where this money has been spent.

Last year, the pothole situation in Swindon reached feverpitch - with residents swamping the Adver with complaints about the state of their roads.

One of the worst affected areas was Parks, dubbed ‘Pothole City’, where local people put together a petition to force the council to take action.

Councillor Steve Wakefield (Indep, Toothill & Westlea) said that any cash from the government will help.

He said: “I don’t believe in the patchwork quilt approach to road repairs – I think we have to grasp the nettle on this one.

“I, personally, have no complaints of the council, as every time I have reported a pothole, it has been filled in within days.

“Roads in Swindon are really starting to show their wear now and resurfacing should be a priority. It is a case of when we have the cash, we get the results.”

He recently spearheaded a successful campaign to get Langstone Way in Westlea resurfaced because of potholes.

Among those who welcomed the extra investment are Lyn and Ken Townsend, of Redcliffe Street, Rodbourne, whose street was eventually resurfaced in the autumn.

The couple claimed their home used to shake whenever a large vehicle hit potholes in the road outside and they lobbied Swindon Council for about two years to sort out the issue.

They even convinced councillor Keith Williams to experience the problem by journeying down the road in a car with a bowl of custard on his lap.

Lynn said: “I’m glad they are getting the extra money but the thing is if they keep filling in that’s not the solution. pIt wants resurfacing completely because what they did was to go around just filling it in but it came out within weeks.

“And I don’t think they will have enough money to refurbish all the roads that need doing in Swindon.

“I think it’s having two bad winters that hasn’t done the roads any good. But they really need resurfacing rather than filling in.”

Last year, an Afghanistan veteran died in a lorry collision in Wiltshire as he tried to avoid a large pothole in the road on his bicycle.

Captain Jonathan Allen, 29, was riding along the A338 near Tidworth in the rain and dark when the accident occurred on March 24 2010.

The pothole - one of a series stretching for 20 metres near the Leckford crossroads - was reported to Wiltshire County Council by a member of the public three weeks before and had been inspected.

The Department for Transport said the funds will be distributed to English local authorities based on the amount and condition of roads the authority is responsible for rather than councils needing to apply for the funding.