Repairs to almost 2,500 potholes have been carried out to roads in the Thurrock district in one month.

The move has smashed government targets the council said, after it was awarded £110,000 to carry out the work.

The action follows years of complaints not enough was being done to keep on top of road repairs across the borough.

Residents voiced their outrage on the Gazette Facebook page in April following a claim by Essex council potholes had gone down.

Facebook user Debi Lander wrote: “Really? The four big ones right outside my house say otherwise!!! Every time a bus goes over them (about 100 times a day) it rattles the walls so much that cracks are appearing everywhere.”

Julia Cartwright said: “The roads around Tilbury and Corringham are terrible. Surely the council can afford to do them with all the money they are raking in from us tax payers!”

Nicola 'Smith' Fox said: “Some of them are so bloody big they must be counting them as sinkholes rather than potholes!”

But council bosses said the Highways team had “eclipsed” the yearly Department of Transport target set for 2075 potholes in one year – by fixing 2,470 potholes in only one month.

The Highways Team have said they aim to visit every resident road in the borough to repair any road defects.

Council Leader Rob Gledhill’s first promise as leader to ‘Clean it, cut it, fill it’.

Councillor Brian Little, Portfolio Holder for Transport and Highways, said: “It is great to see a truly noticeable change to the condition of our roads and I would like to give my thanks to the highways team at the council for all their hard work.

“This will go a long way to getting this administration’s plan to ‘Clean It, Cut It, Fill It’ off to a rolling start.”

He added: “I recently visited the team on-site and learnt about the new techniques that were being used that are more time-efficient, cost-effective and guaranteed for the next year.

“The council want everyone that lives and works in the borough to ‘Love Thurrock’ and having safe and smoother roads is one step towards achieving this.”

Repairs taken place between June 13 and July 16 are said to be complete in Corringham, Fobbing and Stanford-le-Hope, East Tilbury, Linford and Horndon on the Hill, with engineers moving onto Chadwell St Mary, Orsett and South Ockendon.

For more information on the Love Thurrock campaign and the Clean it, Cut it, Fill it plan – including future planned road repairs – visit: thurrock.gov.uk/lovethurrock