A PIONEERING scheme has been launched to detect potholes before they happen – using cameras attached to bin wagons.

City of York Council has been chosen as one of two authorities to take part in a one-year trial of the new high-definition cameras.

They are used to identify road surface problems before they become potholes, so the council can respond to dangerous defects quicker, reducing the number of compensation claims.

The trial will be monitored remotely and the council said it would “allow for accurate and more frequent surveying of the local road network.”

The cameras will also include special navigation systems and “intelligent software” to pinpoint the areas of the city’s roads which need work.

The city’s executive member for transport, Cllr Ian Gillies, said the technology would “hopefully allow the council to reduce the amount of money spent fixing potholes each year by repairing road surface defects before they escalate into potholes.”