Britain’s crumbling road network has been laid bare by a new report which has revealed which areas of the UK are receiving the most complaints about potholes.
According to data collected by the Fill That Hole, a website dedicated to reporting potholes and set up by Cycling UK, there are some areas of the country that see more complaints than others.
Perhaps its is because more cyclists are travelling the beautiful scenery of the Lake District, or perhaps it is simply because the local councils and authorities have no money to spend on improving their roads, but Cumbria is crumbling, under the weight of 448 reports logged last year in England, more than any other region. Hampshire (406 potholes), Surrey (399), Devon (399), Devon (384) and Gloucestershire (281) complete the top five.
Analysis from the Fill That Hole website also reveals the depth of some of the potholes, with complainants encouraged to give as much detail. One report from Penrith in Cumbria said “deep pothole that has now damaged two of our vehicles, one destroying the tyre completely.”
The RAC received more than 10,000 callouts to vehicles damaged by road surfaces last year, and Duncan McClure Fisher of motoring association MotorEasy has said that cash-strapped councils are being inundated with reports from members of the public.
He said: “Members of the public are the 'eyes and ears' for local authorities when it comes to identifying potholes.
“But the worrying thing about this data is that it's only a percentage of the problems out there.
“Most of the reports come from cyclists and even then not everyone goes to the trouble of reporting an issue because either they think it's a fruitless exercise or they simply can't be bothered.
“With money tight and budgets cut across all sectors of society due to the effects of the pandemic, it's difficult to see where sufficient funds to sort out all of these potholes and road defects are going to come from.”