THE number of potholes filled in Barnet since the start of the cold snap in January has now topped 1,500, 50 per cent more than the number usually filled in a year.

Road crews still have another 200 to fill in but hope to have that completed by the end of the week as the numbers of new reports coming in slowly subsides.

Freezing temperatures had caused water in road surfaces to freeze and contract, making the tarmac explode as it expanded when it thawed.

However, with more cold weather forecast for the end of the week Councillor Daniel Thomas, who is in charge of transport in Barnet, is cautiously optimistic the problems will be resolved.

He said: “We are continuing to receive daily reports, however, thanks to the hard work of our crews these have dramatically fallen and we hope to be back to a normal work load by the end of the week, weather permitting."

A newly launched website, Fix My Street, also allows residents to report potholes, graffiti, anti-social behaviour and fly tipping on their roads.

The site, barnet.fixmystreet.com can be accessed by WAP enabled phones so people can report problems as they see them.