The Prime Minister got up close and personal with one of Darlington’s many potholes (Picture: PA)
Rishi Sunak has been pictured peering into one of the UK’s many potholes he has pledged a whopping £200 million to fix.
The Prime Minister visited Darlington today as part of his campaign for the Tories in the run-up to local elections in May.
Mr Sunak announced ‘today we’re announcing more money for potholes’ as he was photographed inspecting a road defect.
Last week, the Treasury added a further £200 million on top of the already allocated £500 million into the so-called Potholes fund.
It will help lower vehicle maintenance costs for workers, families and businesses, and safeguard the road network, ministers have claimed.
But Mr Sunak’s promise to fight potholes has not stopped people from taking matters into their own hands, with one man in Brackley cooking his Pot Noodle in one.
Despite glamorously posing next to a potholes, Mr Sunak still faced questions over reports his heated pool uses so much energy that the local electricity network had to be upgraded.
Pressed by local reporters, the Prime Minister insisted he had taxed the windfall profits of oil companies to ease energy bills.
The Prime Minister has vowed to take action on pesky potholes (Picture: PA)
Mark Morell has begun cooking his lunches in the holes in his street (Picture: Pot Noodle)
He said: ‘People can make up their own minds if that support is sufficient enough,’ he added, describing the support the Government provided as ‘enormous’.
‘I want people to feel better off, I want to put more money in their pockets, we’re only going to be able to do that if we get inflation down.’
The Prime Minister was also highlighting new regulations, coming into force on Saturday, that will see utility companies penalised for leaving streets in poor condition.
The new ‘performance-based inspections regime’ was announced nearly a year ago.
Mr Sunak said: ‘There’ll be more fines, more inspections, that’s also going to help. We want to make sure it’s easy for people to get around.
‘That’s what our local team are delivering here.’
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The Prime Minister got up close and personal with one of Darlington’s many potholes.