People in Rutland say potholes need to be properly fixed

This comes as the transport secretary Louise Haigh has declared war on potholes

Picture of a country road
Author: George Lithgow PA, Aaliyah DublinPublished 27th Sep 2024

People in Rutland say its about time potholes are properly fixed to make the roads safer for drivers and cyclists

The transport secretary Louise Haigh has declared war on potholes, vowing to use cutting-edge repair technology to battle the "plague".

Potholes delay journeys, put the lives of drivers and cyclists at risk, and damages vehicles, the Government said.

During the general election campaign, Labour pledged to fix an additional one million potholes across England in each year of the next parliament.

Concern about the state of local roads had reached record levels

Ms Haigh said the state of the nation's roads had become a "constant and visible reminder of the decline in our country's infrastructure".

Last month, new research revealed that concern about the state of local roads had reached record levels.

27% of those questioned in a survey commissioned by the RAC said their vehicle had suffered damage as a result of potholes in the previous 12 months.

During a visit to Blackpool on Thursday, the Transport Secretary met road workers and councillors to learn about high-definition imagery technology.

The town's Project Amber scheme uses an advanced imagery system that takes high-definition pictures of roads to detect potholes and compile data on areas most in need of repair.

It is hoped similar systems can be replicated across the country.

One of my friends hit a pothole and she had to get a new wheel

Ms Haigh said:

"For too long, this country has suffered from a pothole plague.

"Blackpool Council are already doing fantastic work to make the most of new technology to repair potholes faster.

"This should be a model for every community to learn from and help deliver the roads their drivers deserve."

We spoke to locals in Oakham who said:

"I think the damage comes when you have swerve a big pothole and there's something coming the other way."

"One of my friends hit a pothole and she had to get a new wheel."

"It completely ruined her wheel."

"I don't think you can go very far without seeing a pothole. It never used to be like that."

"It probably causes more accidents than people realise. It can come as a shock, especially if you don't know the roads."

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