Pothole repairs in Tameside Metropolitan Borough should be easier after the council purchased a multi-purpose Multihog with patch planer and suction sweeper attachments.

The Multihog has an innovative setup enabling a single operator to plane a road defect, sweep up the debris, tip and move on to the next site from the comfort of the air conditioned cab which boasts 360 degree visibility.

The machine, which accepts interchangeable attachments to the front and rear, is also designed to help footpath repairs too which are a growing concern for local authorities.

And with the advanced Suction Sweeper attachment it can also act as a street sweeper unit (with front or rear demountable brushes), a gully cleaner or heavy duty litter collector through a hand-held hose.

Tom Carter, Highways operator at Tameside MBC said: 'What this can do in a day would typically take us a whole week to do in a four man gang using jack hammers or breakers so it's certainly speeded up services.

'The Multihog has stopped the back-breaking work we used to have to put up with before so it's great for us on a day-to-day basis and there is also a lot less waste too. We now recycle the leftover asphalt to put back into the pavements and the machine is going to be used for snow ploughing and salt spreading in winter. Overall it's simply faster, safer and more efficient.'