Potholes that caused daily punctures to be repaired

People driving on a country road that leads to their homes have said that cars have been getting punctured tyres "on a daily basis" after driving through "dangerous" large potholes.

Residents of Wilcote near Charlbury, Oxfordshire, said damage done on the single-track Bridewell Lane has been costing them more than £300 in repairs each time.

Kate Sissons lives near the lane and described one pothole, that was at least 20m (66ft) long and 19cm (7.4in) deep, as a "crater".

Oxfordshire County Council said it has started repairs to the road and will continue its work on Thursday.

The authority also said it was looking at wider issues and "it will assess information from the government" after a new mapping tool and traffic light rating system was released by the Department for Transport (DfT) on the state of potholes across the country.

Sissons explained that the state of the narrow lane is "dangerous" and residents are "fed up with the lack of council action".

She said she has had multiple tyre blow outs herself and that she waited two days for her car to be repaired just before Christmas.

She added: "It cost me £342 for a new tyre and the rim repair, my Land Rover is in the garage again because of this lane. It's a 0.8 mile stretch (1.2km) which is a single lane that is completely ripped apart and full of craters.

"These potholes are catching cars on a daily basis, just the other day I saw three cars with punctures. Many drivers I know are now forced to take lengthy detours around the lane to prevent further costly repairs."

She said there are two businesses along the lane and that both of them have told her that "virtually all their employees have had punctures".

In a statement Oxfordshire County Council said its team began addressing the defects on Wednesday "using a specialised material which is particularly effective in waterlogged conditions".

After work has been completed on Thursday it added: "We will assess the repairs. If they have been successful, we anticipate proceeding with the final sealing of the road surface using a machine which rapidly repairs defects using a spray-injection patching method."

Oxfordshire was rated as amber on the DfT pothole map and the council said "it will look at what the green [better performing] areas have done differently".

The local authority added "it's actively working with the DfT and local council roads innovation group".

Although rated amber on the condition of the county's roads, the council added that it is in the green on spend and close to green on best practice.

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