More potholes could mean busier times for Cambridgeshire wheel repair firm
The AA's found pothole damage to vehicles has hit a five-year high
A wheel repair specialist in Cambridgeshire believes poorer quality roads could mean busier times ahead.
Figures from the AA found pothole damage to vehicles has hit a five-year high, with repairs due to potholes costing the economy around £14.4 billion pounds a year.
The AA also reported callouts to vehicles damaged by poor road surfaces have increased by 2% so far this year compared to the same period last year.
Ian Fowler who runs Rimtastic in March, and repairs wheels including those damaged by potholes.
"I expect things to get busier"
In 2023, Ian worked on around 700 wheels in need of repair, most of the damage relating to potholes.
"It's (demand) a growing concern; people are travelling to work and on wet roads, they don't see the potholes, and you can hit a pothole, split a tyre and cracked your alloy," he said.
"I expect things to get more busy, but at the moment, a lot of roads are being patch repaired on top of old patches.
"Eventually they're going to have to be stripped back and the surface redone properly to maintain a good road surface."
Concerns have previously been raised over the state of Cambridgeshire's roads.
But in March this year, Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) said it would invest £40m in improving roads and footpaths.
Ian, who estimates around "35 to 40 per cent" of work is repairing welding previously done on a wheel, believes it's important to think about the motorist as well as business.
"I'm not here just to take money from people to repair wheels, I've got to think about their (drivers) safety and what's morally right and wrong, and that often comes first," he added.
"You have to have a conscience over safety when you're doing things like this; if I said 'yeah okay, I'll do that one', potentially they could end up on the road, in a fatality caused by a damaged wheel that's been repaired."
Cambridgeshire County Council has previously said it's investing £43m this and next year to improving our roads, including "to deliver improvements which both repair and prevent potholes".