The problem of potholes on Kent’s roads is so bad the number of repair crews has had to tripled and an extra £15.9m is to be spent on highways maintenance.

Kent County Council has just added another 10 road crews to the 56 already filling in holes.

It is planning to spend an additional £15.9m on highways maintenance during the next 12 months, including its winter service, road repairs, and drainage and street lights.

And in a new development, every county councillor is to have a £25,000 budget to commission small highways projects.

A spokesman for Kent Highway Services said: “We are investing money to tackle the problem, but residents are being urged to show patience.”

But the efficiency of the repairs is being questioned.

Leon Date said the potholes in Haste Hill Road, Boughton Monchelsea, had been around long before the spate of bad weather in February.

He said: “I wrote to KCC early in 2008. Not a lot has improved.

“There have been at least four attempts at fixing holes over the past year, which not only involves the work to fill the holes, but at least one other action when someone comes around to mark the road indicating the holes to fix.

“There has been at least one occasion when this part of the process took place twice, as no action followed the first.

“How much does all this cost compared with doing the job properly first time around?”

Mr Date said: “The situation is quite ridiculous. Following the article in the Kent Messenger (February 20) in which you carried a picture of the potholes in Haste Hill Road, we had another visit. It looked like it was going to be re-surfaced but it was just patched up.”

Kent Highways’ interim director Caroline Bruce said: “The problem is not going to be resolved overnight.

“Potholes are still forming and, while we are repairing them, the repairs will not always last. So we will follow up with a more permanent repair where necessary when the weather gets warmer."

Kent Highways’ flurry of activity has been described as “a quick election fix”, by county councillor Ian Chittenden (Lib Dem) who represents Maidstone North East Division.

Cllr Chittenden, who has 40 years’ experience in the construction industry, said it was clear that the infilling was a temporary measure that in many cases would have to be re-done later.

He said: “Many of these potholes are very deep and very dangerous. But the problem is a result of years of neglect. KCC had a report back in 2006 saying they needed to spend a whole lot more on road maintenance.”

Kim Hills, Kent Highway Services head of community operations, said: “On a number of occasions we will have to carry out temporary repairs.

“Interim temporary repairs can be affected by water problems, for instance if there is a high water table in the area, or there has been heavy rainfall.

“Where we have to do a temporary repair, we will follow up with a permanent repair in due course.

“However, we do attempt, where possible and in the vast majority of cases, to do a permanent repair first time.”