TWO new pothole busters, nicknamed Dragon patchers, are to take to the county’s highways as civic chiefs pledge to end road misery.

Armed with a flamethrower, the machine can repair up to 150 holes per day, and will be deployed to find and fix road damage as part of a new highways strategy.

Owned by Skanska, Hampshire County Council’s roads contractor, the truck expels flames to de-ice and dry out the road surface, before cleaning it with compressed air.

The potholes are then sealed with a stone mix and hot bitumen emulsion. All this takes just two minutes.

It is claimed that the patcher is five times faster than traditional methods, saves money and, because it is operated from the vehicle’s cabin, it is also safer.

The council confirmed it is set to be used on both rural and urban roads. It comes after the council matched a £3 million government grant, giving the council’s roads team £6 million to play with.

Road boss councillor Rob Humby said: “I am delighted at the announcement of the extra highways money.

“This is primarily to look at how we deal with potholes and the new and innovative ways to tackle them.

“It is a very affordable way of repairing our roads and fixing potholes.

“We are hoping to get to a point that we can publish in advance which areas we are going to mend, so residents know.

“The dragon patcher is a permanent pothole fix and can be driven on straight away.”

Council boss Roy Perry said: “We know that good roads are important to residents – to the quality of life of all those who live and work here and also to Hampshire’s long term prosperity.

“Earlier this year, the Government allocated £3 million from the national Pothole Fund to Hampshire, and we will be matching this with a further £3 million which will go immediately into more ‘Find and Fix’ gangs who are tackling the damage on the roads after the winter, and also on two new dragon patcher machines working exclusively on Hampshire roads.”