A new method of fixing road defects is being trialled by Staffordshire County Council over the next two weeks.

The Thermal Road Repairs machine uses thermal technology and solar power to heat the road surface to more than 4000C. This allows crews to re-lay the surface, adding more bitumen where needed to fix any defect.

By reusing existing tarmac, the method also cuts down on waste and is better for the environment.

If successful, the machine could be rolled out across the county, to help increase the amount of road maintenance that can be carried out during the winter months.

Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Highways David Williams said: "We're always on the lookout for new technology that helps our highways crews work smarter and makes the most out of our budget. Our road maintenance does continue throughout the winter months, but this often depends on the temperature and weather conditions.

"By heating up the road, this patching machine allows us to fix defects in some of the coldest conditions. If this trial is successful, this has the potential to help us step up our winter maintenance programme and fix more defects throughout the season.

"This is just one of the many innovative machines we will be trialling this year, to make our road repairs more efficient and enable us to do more during the winter months."