Villagers' anger over 'new normal' of potholes

Villagers are calling for urgent repairs to potholes they say have damaged vehicles amid ongoing frustrations over local road conditions.

Kim White said she had complained to Shropshire Council about potholes near her home in Cleeton St Mary numerous times over the last couple of years, and wanted officials to act.

Another large pothole that appeared on the main road in and out of the village earlier this year caused issues for drivers and restricted access to the village until the council filled it with rubble, which residents said was now coming out.

Shropshire Council said it was not always possible to make permanent repairs and it was dealing with a pothole backlog.

"It's like it's supposed to be the new normal for all of us and it's just not acceptable," White said, adding she feared the potholes could cause a serious accident.

"We shouldn't have to put up with this. It's going to get to the point where somebody gets fatally injured... we shouldn't have to let it get that bad."

The villagers' complaints come as West Midlands roads are described as a "national disgrace" in a new report by the Asphalt Industry Alliance.

It estimated it would cost £1.94bn to clear the backlog of road repairs across the region.

On Tuesday, the issue was raised in parliament by South Shropshire MP, Conservative Stuart Anderson.

Speaking during a debate, he said residents deserved "better than the roads they've got".

"The funding that has been reduced from South Shropshire is beyond what's acceptable for [the] remoteness and Rural Services Delivery Grant, and it's having a huge impact and I'm not going to sit by and watch my residents put up with this any more."

Cleeton resident and nurse Sharon Oertel said her car had been damaged by the potholes.

"After a 14-hour shift, I come home at about 10 o'clock at night and I'm trying to remember - my brain is already tired from my work - doing zig zags, just to try to avoid all the potholes.

"I've had occasion where I have had a burst tyre and I just feel, on our nursing salaries, I can't really afford to replace those tyres."

Shropshire Council said the county had seen a 77% increase in potholes in recent months, with 2,113 new ones in January, compared with 1,216 during the same month last year,

Since May last year, the authority said it had repaired more than 25,000 potholes - an average of about 595 per week.

The government said it has allocated £1.6bn to fix potholes across the UK for the next four years.

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