Call for volunteers to help fix potholes

Community volunteers could be the answer to a massive pothole backlog in Devon, it is claimed.

The man in charge of Devon's highways has said it would cost about £1bn to get all of the county's road network free of potholes and in good repair.

But a councillor in south Devon is encouraging people to enrol as road wardens and get involved with fixing small potholes in a scheme backed by Devon County Council.

The government said it was giving more money to local authorities and promising stability to allow councils to plan years ahead.

Louise Wainwright, Liberal Democrat member for Salcombe on Devon County Council, has put together the Devon Parish Pothole Handbook to guide volunteers through the process of fixing potholes.

There are 426 parish councils in Devon. But, so far, only 135 have signed up to the road warden scheme, which involves volunteers clearing out and filling potholes.

She said: "I really want to be at the forefront of the battle to save our roads and I believe that road wardens are the way forward on this."

Potholes must measure 30cm (12in) wide and 4cm (1.5in) vertically to be dealt with by Devon County Council, but road wardens can fill in smaller potholes on minor roads.

Asked if it was fair to expect council tax-payers to fix the roads themselves, Wainwright said: "I'd like the general public to stop pointing fingers and turn it round and say: 'What can I do for my parish to help fix my local roads?'"

The council said there were almost 10,000 potholes reported in February 2026 during a period of heavy winter storms.

The road warden scheme was set up in 2017 but Wainwright believes many more parish councils should be involved.

Volunteer Peter Grayson was out on a minor road near Kingsbridge sweeping, filling and tamping down.

He said: "Nobody else is going to do the work, so eventually we're going to be in a situation where the roads are totally impassable.

"This is just something I can pay back to the community - and hopefully prevent damage to my car, let alone anybody else's."

Devon County Council looks after more than 8,000 miles (12,900km) of roads and the cost of getting all of them up to scratch would be astronomical, according to the councillor responsible for highways.

Dan Thomas, Liberal Democrat cabinet member for Highways at Devon County Council, said: "It would probably cost the department the best part of £1bn to get all the roads in Devon into a steady state where they're properly built and properly maintained."

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said there had been "years of underspending on our roads".

"We're giving Devon and Torbay over £433m over the next four years to help them resurface roads and tackle potholes, giving them the long-term certainty they need to plan and deliver repairs," the spokesman said.

A Devon County Council report being discussed on Wednesday says multi-year government funding will enable it to go from simply "managing and mitigating decline" to "stabilising and strengthening" the network.

The council has set aside more than £8m for pothole repairs in 2026/27 and will spend £42.5m in the next financial year on the prevention of potholes.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.