Highways authority engineers are planning the repair of serious potholes at Wardington ‘as we speak’, a spokesman said this week.

The potholes on the A361 at Wardington have continued to be a serious problem for motorists in spite of temporary repairs by Oxfordshire County Council’s roads department.

One became headlines in the Banbury Guardian in March after a resident filmed a trailer almost tipping over when it hit the biggest of the potholes.

A villager contacted the newsroom this week to say: “Anyone checking the FixMyStreet website will find there have been hundreds of reports at Wardington, OX17 1SE where three drains have collapsed causing cavities up to one metre across and some up to 20cm deep.

A deep pothole at Wardington that has been filled repeatedly - the repair that lasts only hours because of drainage issues

placeholder image — A deep pothole at Wardington that has been filled repeatedly - the repair that lasts only hours because of drainage issues

"The underlying drain has been collapsing for at least three years, but has got substantially worse over the past eight months.

“The council attend on a frequent basis but only fill the holes with aggregate or bags of tarmac. Unfortunately they do not allow sufficient time for it to set, so most gets pushed by the next few trucks, so they last less than a day.

"They occasionally add signage and/or bollards but these are soon destroyed by passing traffic. This needs to be fixed without any further delay. It causes damage to many vehicles, as well as being a traffic and noise nuisance to nearby residents – including my daughter who lives just opposite.”

The road is used constantly by lorries carrying aggregate for the HS2 rail works near Chipping Warden.

Those using the road say the potholes are especially dangerous after rain when the depth of the craters cannot be judged easily.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council said: “In order to complete the repairs, there is a requirement to clean the drains and to investigate the extent of the damage to the drainage assets.

“Work is now being planned for a combination of carriageway and drainage repairs under the same traffic management. In the meantime, we are carrying out ‘make safes’ as required until a more permanent highway repair can be made.

"The work, including drainage cleansing, is being planned as we speak.”