CENTRAL Devon MP Mel Stride has urged Devon County Council to bid for support following the announcement of new government funding for pothole repairs. The £168-million Pothole Fund, announced in the 2014 Budget, has opened for bids from councils, with applications closing this month. The funding is enough to repair more than three million potholes across Britain, and comes on top of £10-billion already being given to councils in England for local roads maintenance between 2010 and 2021. Mr Stride said: 'Since taking control of Devon County Council in 2009 the Conservative administration has an excellent record of repairing potholes – fixing more in their first year in office than the last four years of the previous administration.'