BRITISH digger maker JCB’s pothole fixer has rolled into Reading as part of a nationwide mission to fix Britain’s roads.

It comes as 13 complaints have been made about potholes in Reading on the 'Fix My Street' website so far this year.

The company launched the JCB PotholePro earlier this year - a machine that can repair a pothole in less than eight minutes, four times quicker than standard methods and at half the cost of current solutions.

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The Reading working demonstrations culminated on Thursday, April 8, after three days at The Meadway, where the machine repaired a wide selection of road defects in double quick time - including a 1m² pothole which was fixed in just 3m20s.

Andy Edwards, Reading Borough Council’s Assistant Director of Environmental & Commercial Services, said: “We are always looking for innovative ways to make road improvements more efficient, to provide a quality highway network for our residents, so trialling the JCB PotholePro fits in with our ethos and ambition for Reading.

"Reading Borough Council is investing £9m over three years in resurfacing, in response to residents’ requests for better roads and pavements, and trials such as today’s demonstrate our commitment to building on that investment."

JCB PotholePro Product Specialist Ben Rawding said: “Potholes are a huge concern for councils all over the country and one of the issues with repairs at the moment is that in most cases they are only short term fixes – and that’s where the JCB PotholePro differs.

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“Just like when you have a filling, the dentist has to carefully remove all the decay so your tooth can be filled properly without recurrence of pain.

"It’s just the same with a pothole: it needs to be prepared properly before it is filled with tar so the pothole doesn’t open up again within weeks.

"That’s exactly what the JCB PotholePro does; it cuts, crops and cleans the hole so a permanent repair can be carried out.”

Tests with local authorities and contractors show the JCB PotholePro can complete a pothole repair in less than eight minutes – equivalent to up to 250 square meters per day and 700 potholes per month.

With a 40km/h travel speed, the machine can rapidly relocate between sites without additional transport costs.