LASERS have been used by a council to prove its roads are better than ever before.

Essex County Council has been rolling out Road Assessment Vehicles across fitted with special lasers to skim main roads across the county as the most accurate and objective means of recording defects in the asphalt.

And, according to the readings made by the cutting-edge technology, the number of main roads in south Essex needing repairs has in many cases halved in the last three years.

According to the figures, only 1.5 per cent of priority roads in Basildon now need attention, compared to 3.7 per cent three years ago, 3.9 per cent compared to 7.5 per cent in Brentwood, 1.2 per cent compared to 4.5 per cent in Castle Point and only 2.2 per cent in Chelmsford compared to 5.8 per cent three years ago.

The council’s highways spokesman Rodney Bass said: “Clearly our priority measures and investment in highway improvements are working and really benefiting both commercial and domestic road users.

“Continuously maintaining and upgrading our county routes, which are our priority roads, has a tangible benefit for the county’s business community, especially as many rely heavily on good transport links to and from the region’s ports, airports and motorway connections.”