Pothole of the Week - 'This pothole is a serious accident risk' - numerous vehicles disabled by Banburyshire village pothole

The first Pothole of the Week this year is on the B 4031 at Clifton, near Deddington. The hazard has resulted in punctures and damage to alloy wheels. A number of travellers have had to wait hours for recovery.

Clifton resident David Murray-Hundley said he and a neighbour had taken coffee and blankets to a couple whose car was disabled at midday yesterday (January 2) after crashing into the pothole. They were still waiting for recovery at 7.30pm.

"They were on way home to Wellingbourgh,” said Mr Murray-Hundley. “It happened at 12pm and they were still there at 7.30pm last night. A neighbour sorted them coffee and I checked to see if they wanted blankets and food. The pothole is in the road as you coming out of 60mph zone to 30mph. It’s big and very hard see, so hard to miss.

"They came into the pub that’s how I got talking to them. It was pitch black up there and I was worried so went up to check that they were safe and warm.”

Mr Murray-Hundley said motorists are forced to hit the pothole if there is an oncoming vehicle. “If something is coming other way the driver has no choice but to hit it,” he said.

Fix My Street has multiple complaints about the pothole.

One said: “I hit this pothole this evening. I have damaged the underside of my car; several other cars have also been damaged and are parked on the road side as can be seen from my dash-cam footage.”

Another said: "I was driving towards Clifton around 16.30 on Jan 2, came around a corner and there was a very large pothole in middle of road just on my side of the white line. Tried to avoid it but couldn’t. It damaged my front driver side tyre which deflated immediately. Had to stop just in Clifton and phone AA. Had to get a new tyre.

"This happened to another couple four hours earlier and they were still waiting for recovery. They had damage to both driver side tyres and wheels.”

Two motorists reported damage and need for recovery of cars on New Year’s Eve.

"I have just hit this pot hole and now have a puncture there was a car coming the other way so no chance to avoid it. Now waiting in the rain for recovery - not at all happy."

One said: "A family member hit this pothole on the evening of December 31, not seeing it in the dark. It’s ruined both right hand tyres and damaged an alloy. It looks as though this is a pre-existing pot hole that has been fixed and now re-developed in the cold weather. There are at least two other reports on this website of this pothole causing real damage to cars.”

One report described the plight of the occupants of a stricken car. "With two tyres damaged they spent over an hour and a half on hold with roadside recovery without an answer and when it got to past midnight they had to give up and find local overnight accommodation.”

Another said: “This is a dangerous pothole that needs fixing; the consequences of a motorbike hitting it could be much more serious.”

Yet another said: “I’m not happy and very shaken up and would like the council to pay for my new tyre and repairs as it was a pothole in their area that hadn’t been fixed.”

Oxfordshire Highways said: “We really appreciate and encourage people taking the time to raise issues such as potholes by using Fix My Street. When it comes to assessing defects on our 5,000km of roads, including those raised by residents or through our own annual inspections, we follow stringent risk-based criteria for the determination of repairs.

“Oxfordshire County Council has a limited budget to maintain roads, paths and cycle paths, so we fix reported potholes based on the risk they pose to all road users.

“At the same time, we also carry out scheduled maintenance. We are prioritising a greater proportion of resources towards a strategy of preventative maintenance to reduce the need for reactive repairs and improve value for money.”

Mark Morrell of Brackley, aka Mr Pothole, said: “After a nearly a decade of campaigning about the terrible condition of Britain’s potholed roads, what I have been warning Government and local authorities is coming home to roost.

"Decades of under-investment in the country’s key transport network is costing the UK economy billions. Meanwhile £1.2 billion is being cut from roads maintenance funding to highways authorities.

“Short-sightedness of those in authority means road users are paying the price, not only financial but with deaths and injuries to those on two wheels.

“I have learnt over the years that in reality, Government don't care. Lip service and grand announcements don't fix our failing roads. A great example is the excellent cross party Transport Select Committee report "Filling the Gap" to which the then Transport Secretary Grant Shapps gave lip service and did nothing,” he said.

“Every time a road user damages a tyre, wheel or suspension it's extra cash for Government through taxes. So do they really want to Fix Pothole Britain?”

Mr Pothole said he was fed up with the ‘lies and games’ by politicians. “I intend to be very vocal from now up to National Pothole Day on January 15,” he said.

"I have never been contacted by so many people around the country about potholes and failing roads.

"The new Transport Secretary Mark Harper is a bean counter by trade and has no experience in Transport. Government in this country has people in most senior positions they know nothing about area of responsibility. This wouldn't happen in a real world.”

Mr Pothole said he is working with groups around the country on Section 56 legal notices in a bid to get their worst roads resurfaced.

Fix My Street said the Clifton reports were under investigation.

The Banbury Guardian has asked Oxfordshire Highways for their current policy on road surface repairs.