Worst roads for potholes in Britain amid 'international embarrassment' trends now

Worst roads for potholes in Britain amid 'international embarrassment' trends now
Worst roads for potholes in Britain amid 'international embarrassment' trends now

Worst roads for potholes in Britain amid 'international embarrassment' trends now

The condition of Britain's roads was today branded an 'international embarrassment' amid a pothole epidemic as some of the country's worst streets were revealed.

London, the Midlands and North East have emerged as the worst regions for road condition – with shocking pictures showing the state of some routes in those areas.

It follows an Asphalt Industry Alliance report revealing today that the cost of clearing Britain's pothole backlog has reached £14billlion - up nearly £1.5billion on last year.

Locals in St Osyth, a seaside community in Essex, have labelled Seawick Road as the worst street in Britain. Blighted by hundreds of potholes, they say taxi drivers refuse to come to their doors and emergency services have been struggling for access.

But photographs have also revealed the poor state of surfaces elsewhere across England in parts of North West London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Blackpool and Bournemouth as well as Devon, Kent and Buckinghamshire.

ESSEX -- Seawick Road in St Osyth has been billed the worst road in the country for potholes

ESSEX -- Seawick Road in St Osyth has been billed the worst road in the country for potholes

LONDON -- Potholes cover parts of Claremont Road in Cricklewood, North West London

LANCASHIRE -- A large pothole on the surface at Coleridge Road in Blackpool

LANCASHIRE -- A large pothole on the surface at Coleridge Road in Blackpool

TYNE AND WEAR -- Potholes on the very bumpy road surface of Clumber Street in Newcastle

TYNE AND WEAR -- Potholes on the very bumpy road surface of Clumber Street in Newcastle

The total number of potholes filled reported in this year's survey has decreased by 16 per cent from 1.7million reported for the last two years to 1.4million in England and Wales

The total number of potholes filled reported in this year's survey has decreased by 16 per cent from 1.7million reported for the last two years to 1.4million in England and Wales

MIDLANDS

In Lincolnshire, Holly Bryant has unsuccessfully battled to fix a pothole covering the width of her village road.

'On the lane I've lived on for eight years there are a couple of drains that flood and the highways take four to six weeks to come and clear it, so it floods the lane and then we get big potholes,' said the 37-year-old from Osgodby.

'They cleared the water this summer as it covered the whole width of the lane, about ten metres in diameter.

LINCOLNSHIRE -- Holly Bryant, 37, of Osgodby, has unsuccessfully battled to fix a pothole

LINCOLNSHIRE -- Holly Bryant, 37, of Osgodby, has unsuccessfully battled to fix a pothole

LINCOLNSHIRE -- Holly Bryant has battled to fix a pothole covering the width of a local road

LINCOLNSHIRE -- Holly Bryant has battled to fix a pothole covering the width of a local road 

LINCOLNSHIRE -- The pothole in Osgodby, which Holly Bryant has been trying to get fixed

LINCOLNSHIRE -- The pothole in Osgodby, which Holly Bryant has been trying to get fixed

'At one point a local resident had taken the initiative and cleared a path to the ditch themselves because the authorities were taking so long.'

Ms Bryant, who owns businesses that make premium dog bedding and soft furnishings, added: 'I got a puncture in my car before Christmas because of the stones, I had only driven half a mile and that was the only stony road. It costs me £250 to replace each tyre.

'There isn't a footpath and my next door neighbour is a mum with a small child and a dog, so it's very hard to negotiate that bit of the lane when there is the water there.

'The water is permanently above your ankle, we go on the Fix My Street website and we've tried to get local councillors involved. But the council just close the issue with 'No further action' on Fix My Street.

WEST MIDLANDS -- A pothole on Marget Grove in Birmingham

WEST MIDLANDS -- A pothole on Marget Grove in Birmingham

'The council says there is no funding, they say they will fix the drain for the flooding but when I raise the potholes they say there will be no further action because they can't fix the pothole until the water is gone.'

She said that a town councillor and local parish councillors had been out to see the pothole, but 'no one higher up'.

Richard Davies, highways executive member at Lincolnshire County Council, said: 'Our policy is for potholes less than 40mm deep to not get immediate repair works, and over the last decade on this road we have carried out six jobs in total with nothing now outstanding in terms of potholes repairs.'

STAFFORDSHIRE -- Pothole repairs are carried out on a road in Stoke-on-Trent on March 3

STAFFORDSHIRE -- Pothole repairs are carried out on a road in Stoke-on-Trent on March 3

He said that going back to 2010 on the council's records, they had received a series of reports on the road about its condition with five resulting in pothole repairs and two assessed as no immediate action required.

Mr Davies added that last year the council had 25 per cent of its roads maintenance funding withdrawn by Government and this had happened again this year.

He continued: 'Every day we repair vital roads in Lincolnshire and are trying our absolute best to get as much done as we can with the resources we have. The county council has used crucial reserves and other measures just to keep the current state of the roads as they are, but we are fighting a losing battle.'

SOUTH WEST

A retired businesswoman has spent thousands of pounds on car repairs because of the pothole-riddled road next to her house.

Judith Lee, 63, of Burrington, Devon, said the potholes next to her house had cost her over £2,000 in repairs.

Miss Lee, a retired business consultant, said the potholes had inflicted 12 punctures on her Mercedes E350 in just a few months.

DEVON - Judith Lee, a retired business consultant, said potholes in Devon had inflicted 12 punctures on her Mercedes E350 in just a few months

DEVON - Judith Lee, a retired business consultant, said potholes in Devon had inflicted 12 punctures on her Mercedes E350 in just a few months

DEVON - Judith Lee from Devon said the punctured tyres cost £100 each to repair and three cracked wheels cost her £1,500

DEVON - Judith Lee from Devon said the punctured tyres cost £100 each to repair and three cracked wheels cost her £1,500

She said the punctured tyres cost £100 each to repair and three cracked wheels cost £1,500.

Miss Lee added that she usually drives a Volvo estate but it is also being repaired because of punctures caused by potholes.

She said: 'There are elderly people on this road who may need medical attention at some point but the emergency services won't be able to get to them. Delivery drivers won't come down here either.

DORSET -- A series of potholes across Woodbury Avenue in Bournemouth

DORSET -- A series of potholes across Woodbury Avenue in Bournemouth

DEVON -- Devon County Council member Ian Roome stands next to potholes in Barnstaple

DEVON -- Devon County Council member Ian Roome stands next to potholes in Barnstaple

'You can't drive down here very easily in an ordinary car. You have to creep down the lane and even then you hit potholes.

'We're continually getting punctures and we've complained to the council endlessly and we've got no help.'

Devon County Council said the road had been added to the list of future sites for remedial work and current high workload on nearby highways was causing the delay.

DORSET -- Potholes cover parts of Jumpers Road in Christchurch

DORSET -- Potholes cover parts of Jumpers Road in Christchurch

DEVON -- Potholes photographed on the road between Newton Abbot and Totnes

DEVON -- Potholes photographed on the road between Newton Abbot and Totnes

The authority said it would continue to undertake regular safety inspections of the road.

Miss Lee added: 'It's just dreadful. I'm unfortunately living by myself now and my friends won't come and see me because they won't drive their car down the lane.

'It has got to the stage where I have parked my car at the end of the lane, to walk down, and I have actually hurt myself, thrown my ankle, walking down in the dark because I walked in a pothole and I know where they are.

Mike Harris, who lives on the same road, said the road surface was 'much better' when he moved there in 2014.

He said: 'It's horrific. You can't do more than about five or six miles per hour.

'If you've got a low-level car, you're scuffing the rubbish on the middle of the road while you're going down the potholes and scraping the car on the potholes.

DORSET -- Cars drive over potholes on Turbary Park Avenue in Bournemouth

DORSET -- Cars drive over potholes on Turbary Park Avenue in Bournemouth

'The major problem is

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