MORE than £3million of extra cash is heading to Dorset to repair potholes.

In his budget speech on Wednesday, chancellor George Osborne confirmed that an extra £100 million was being provided by the Department for Transport to councils across the UK to help with much-needed road repairs after another harsh winter.

Now, authorities have been told how much they will get.

Dorset County Council, which maintains most of the county’s roads, will get £2,712,026, while Bournemouth and Poole, who look after their own highways, will get £322,000 and £282,000 respectively.

In February the government announced £100 million of initial funding but now says that it has been able to double that.

Residents of Persley Road, who dubbed it the worst in Bournemouth for potholes, welcomed the news.

Sheila Schulkins, a grandmother of three, said: “There are cars in the road that have been damaged.

“It will be a very happy day when we see this road resurfaced.”

Phillip Plowman, 51, said it was “great” that Dorset was getting cash.

“The whole road is just a series of patches”, he added.

Paul Driver, who does the gardens of six properties along Persley Road, said residents had suffered “pothole after pothole” adding: “The road has been neglected.”

Mum of one Kate Kaminski, 32, compared the road to a “dirt track” adding: “It’s damaged one of our tyres on the car. You have to drive really slowly to make sure your car is not damaged.”

Stuart Best, street services manager at Bournemouth council, said: “We’re very pleased to have a further £322,000 for additional road maintenance in Bournemouth.

“Public consultation showed that road and pavement repairs are a top priority to Bournemouth residents and as such we are already investing almost £3million into the borough’s highway network through the Road Rescue scheme.”

John Sayers, principal engineer at Borough of Poole, added: “Following a series of severe winters the additional funding is both timely and welcome, and will help the council to make any necessary repairs and keep the network safe.”

Peter Finney, Dorset County Council Cabinet member for transport, said: “We are delighted to receive the additional funding from the Government, which is better than expected. The money will go a long way towards helping us repair Dorset’s roads and deal with the aftermath of the heavy winter.”