COUNCIL chiefs in Worcestershire have defended surface dressing - saying it's a far better option than hugely expensive full-scale pothole repairs.

John Hobbs, the corporate director overseeing highways at Worcestershire County Council, has hit back at criticism over the tactic by insisting it is "making a significant difference" to the roads.

Back in the summer a record £4.5 million went on surface dressing 150 miles of carriageway around Worcestershire.

As your Worcester News revealed on Monday, some people along the A449 in Claines have complained about the new surface creating a loud "droning" noise.

And last year the council came under fire when a big surface dressing effort in Worcester's Upper Tything led to plumes of dust from loose chippings covering all the properties after a faulty batch of chippings was used.

Mr Hobbs says if bosses opted for full-scale pothole repairs it would cost taxpayers around £80 per defect - and 45,000 were done over the last 18 months.

"Ideally I'd like to get to a defect-free world, that's what I'd like to pursue, but it's just not possible," he said.

"I know some people don't like it but the surface dressing work we are doing now is making a significant difference.

"If you think about it, it costs more than £75 to repair one pothole, let's call it £80 - and for that you get to repair 30 square metres of road.

"The surface dressing is making a real difference to the amount of reactive stuff we have to do - we recently looked at some roads we did a few years ago and they are still going strong."

The summer's £4.5 million surface dressing scheme saw more than 300 roads tended up, with rollers covering them in gravel chippings.

Bosses at County Hall have data going back 12 years and say it is proving the most durable method to prevent defects popping up, which is where the big costs lie.

The noise on the A449 is being monitored following the complaints from people living in Claines Lane.

Mr Hobbs was speaking during to councillors during a meeting of the economy and environment overview and scrutiny panel.