A COMMUNITY group where residents can keep track of potholes has been set up with the hopes of getting them fixed more quickly.

Salisbury Pothole Watch, a Facebook group, was set up by Gavin Barrett, of Old Sarum.

He said the group aimed to highlight "problem areas" in Salisbury and aim to get potholes repaired more quickly by ensuring they were reported to Wiltshire Council promptly and then followed up where necessary.

He said: "I take part in triathlons, so I spend a lot of time cycling around the roads in Salisbury, and I am very aware of the potholes.

"I know county council's budgets are really tight now, and the fact that Wiltshire Council covers hundreds of miles of road means some areas must be missed.

"If you have local community groups that are just responsible for their own local patch, it can be a better service.

"The Facebook group should build a better picture of where the problems are and get some community pressure behind it.

"My intention is to be in contact with Wiltshire Council on a regular basis and get them to fix the worst of the potholes and prioritise Salisbury."

Gavin initially wanted to create a group of volunteers who could be trained to carry out repairs to potholes, after finding out about a similar scheme in Devon which he thought was a "really good idea".

He said the group would be able to patch up small potholes as they appear, and that according to Devon County Council, the cost of repair would be £4 per pothole, compared to £35 if the council sends someone out.

But councillors believed concerns for the safety of volunteers working on the potholes meant the scheme may not be suitable for Salisbury at this stage - although the idea of a volunteer scheme may be revisited in the future depending on the success of the trial in Devon

Gavin said: "I thought what they did in Devon was a really good idea.

"In the longer term, the Facebook group might encourage the council to sanction the community team, who could act before potholes develop into massive craters.

"The more people we can get on board and push for this, the more chance we have got of convincing the council to actually implement it and the more people we have reporting potholes the better picture we can build of what needs to be done."

Councillor Richard Clewer, who Gavin raised the idea of a Facebook group with at a community event, said: "This gives people a place to actually talk about these things and then it can be used to monitor what is being said.

"It seemed like a really good thing to do.

"I think it is a great way both to identify the potholes that are of particular concern to residents and to provide information on what type of holes will be filled as a priority and which will be monitored but not fixed quickly."

Visit Salisbury Pothole Watch at https://www.facebook.com/groups/421526338238097/?fref=nf.