Cars pulled out of giant pothole by tractor

Residents in a Shropshire village say severe potholes are wreaking havoc on their daily lives.

Locals in Cleeton St Mary, near Clee Hill, said the area's roads are dangerous and a deep crater had trapped four vehicles, which needed to be pulled out by a tractor.

The giant hole on Cleeton Lane has also damaged cars and forced motorists to take long detours, they said.

A spokesman for Shropshire Council said it had placed stone in the pothole to allow essential access for locals, but the road is closed to other traffic.

They said the council had asked its contractor, Multevo, to carry out patching work on the potholes and defects in the area.

On 18 February, before Cleeton Lane was closed, the large pothole caused four vehicles to get stuck, with a farmer using his tractor to pull them free.

Two weeks later, on 2 March, an ambulance with blue lights flashing was unable to get past the same defect.

A car approaching the obstruction lost control and ended up in a ditch. When an AA recovery vehicle was sent to assist, it cracked its sump while attempting to navigate the lane.

One woman said she had to walk to collect a food delivery because the driver could not reach her home.

Sharon Oertel, a nurse who has lived in the village for more than 20 years, said navigating the roads had become increasingly dangerous.

"Dodging potholes in the dark and sometimes adverse weather conditions means I am often forced into them by oncoming traffic on these narrow lanes," she said.

"We deserve the same level of care and diligence in our infrastructure that we provide in our professions. Beyond the safety risks, there is a significant financial and environmental cost to every driver. I myself cannot afford to continually replace tyres that are damaged long before they are worn out."

Hayley Turner said her daughter, who has Down's syndrome and goes to college in Shrewsbury, faces significantly longer journeys because of the diversion.

"This diversion has been going on for about six to eight weeks. Carers are getting sick and tired of the challenge of doing their job," she said.

Kim White, another resident, said: "It shouldn't be a luxury to just have a normal day-to-day life. It feels like a third-world country. I feel we're just being fobbed off with lip service and nothing else.

"They come along, will do one hole, maybe one next to it, and they pack everything up and go, and that's not conducive, cost wise and time wise. They need quality assurance of how the process works."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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