Contractors have been appointed to carry out urgent repairs on Bradford’s weather-ravaged roads.

P Summers, in Clayton, Bradford, and DCT, which has its headquarters in Oldham, have been appointed by Bradford Council to start repairs to potholes this week.

About 200 defects have been found by highways engineers. At the start of the month, Council leader, Councillor Kris Hopkins, authorised the release of £300,000 of funding to repair the significant number of new potholes that have appeared across the district following the cold snap.

The mini-craters are caused when moisture penetrates roads’ structural layers, expanding when it freezes and causing the top layer to blow out.

Coun Hopkins said: “Because this is an extreme situation, we have had to take urgent steps to resolve it. We have recruited contractors to ensure this work is done as quickly and effectively as possible to ensure our highways are as safe as possible.”

The contractors’ programme of repairs will be followed by further prioritised maintenance schemes, funded through the Council’s Capital Highway Maintenance programme for 2010/11.

During the recent bad weather, the Council paid £1 million on supplies of 18,000 tonnes of rock salt which was spread on icy and snowy roads to keep them passable.

This was twice the expected budget and the money had to come out of the Council’s contingency funds. In addition, £200,000 was spent on gritting staff, and at weekends in what was sometimes a 24-hour operation.

But the bill in other parts of Yorkshire has been even higher. North Yorkshire County Council said it would cost £10 million to repair roads.

Kirklees Council has also released extra money to tackle potholes. The contingency fund cash will allow eight extra teams to help repair damaged roads.

Meanwhile, Leeds City Council has set up a £500,000 fund to pay for repairs.

Some of that money went towards urgent repairs to potholes on Old Pool Bank and Arthington Lane, in the Pool-in-Wharfedale area.