Quieter roads brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic gave Brent Council the chance to make use of new technology tasked with improving its pothole repair services.

It used dashcams to cover 340 miles worth of roads in the borough and said defects were identified over six days, which, according to the council, is “a fraction of the time” taken through conventional surveys.

The council’s road repair teams also took the opportunity to fill in as many holes as possible, with fewer drivers out due to lockdown measures associated with the coronavirus outbreak.

It said it repaired almost 5,000 potholes using the ‘Velocity’ injection method, which is much quicker than previous techniques.

The council assured residents this method is “very durable” based on a review of repairs made over the last two years.

Cllr Krupa Sheth, who is responsible for the environment at Brent Council, said: “By rethinking old approaches and exploring new technologies, we’ve been able to repair more roads at the same time as saving money and cutting our carbon footprint.

“I’m thrilled with what we’ve been able to deliver for residents in such a short amount of time.”

It is a contrast to a report presented to the council’s cabinet in June last year, which showed almost half of non-emergency potholes were not repaired in time during 2018/19.

At the time, the council explained that these figures were affected by a backlog of unrepaired potholes, but it was ultimately “brought back under control”.