A pothole campaigner has given a cautious welcome to a trial scheme to speed up holes in the road.

Devon County Council (DCC) has announced it will be begin a seven-week trial of changes to its pothole repair procedures.

The pilot starts on Monday, September 15, in parts of Barnstaple and West Devon areas of Hatherleigh, Chagford and North Tawton.

These locations have been chosen because of a high number of potholes numbers. Highways teams will be filling all potholes, not just those deemed unsafe to the end of October.

When investigating potholes reported by the public, highway safety inspectors will record all potholes within 500 metres.

While not everything will be repaired, this trial will establish the budget implications of taking a more proactive approach to fixing potholes before they become unsafe. It is a chance to see if this trial leads to a reduction in pothole reports.

Dave Newcombe, dubbed Mr Pothole in Tavistock for his policing and reporting of the tarmac dangers, is sceptical - thinking the trial could end up determining that some roads are not worth repairing.

He said: “The council are looking to undertake a seven-week trial to improve its pothole repair services in four areas of the county.

“Given the amount of time that it takes for them to fix potholes at present, I would cautiously welcome a change to their current operating procedure.

“Although it suggests a more pro-active approach to fixing potholes before they become dangerous, (whatever they deem is dangerous), does this mean that what is classified as a pothole will be changed from the criteria that they currently use?”

He described the pilot as a potential excuse not to repair some roads: “This appears to me to be their ‘golden get out of jail free card’, not to undertake repairs to the roads in and around Tavistock, and possibly Devon.

“They state that not everything will be repaired - it could be just a study to find out cost implications and if the number of reports are reduced.”

He said he would continue to be a force for good, by remaining a thorn in the side of highways officers: “Improving Devon’s roads is a priority, DCC’s words that I totally agree with. How they achieve it remains to be seen.

“I will continue to report the same outstanding potholes, and others before they become safety defects

“I encourage everyone else to do the same so that DCC can gather as much information during the trial period so they get a complete picture of the state of the roads that we have to use.”

DCC Councillor Dan Thomas, said: “The frustrations you hear from people are that a workforce will go out and fill in one pothole but possibly don’t fill in others that you would consider road defects, because they don't have them on their list.

“While it makes sense for them to be looking to fill as many road defects as possible to ensure they're not having to go back in short order. I don’t believe the current way of working is cost effective and the purpose of the trial is to prove that’s the case.”