'I'm paralysed after my motorbike hit a pothole'

"It has been 15 years, and the roads are a massive embarrassment, nothing has changed."

Hitting a pothole on his motorbike paralysed Richard Cheshire from the chest down when he was 19.

Now 34, Richard, of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, continues to call for change to the UK's roads.

He said he was flung from his bike and hit a fence, and said he feared "at the moment, another injury like mine is just waiting to happen".

Richard said he was on his way to work as a lifeguard when he hit the pothole in October 2010.

He had been riding a bike he got two weeks earlier and had been in Netherfield Lane, in Meden Vale, Mansfield, when the crash happened.

Richard said he spent six months in hospital recovering from his injuries.

He wants to see a "long-term fix" for repairing roads in the UK.

"I went from walking to using a wheelchair full-time," he added. "I had to relearn how to live life.

"I'd like to see this issue being taken seriously. I'd like to see the roads completely resurfaced."

Richard said he had found fulfilling work through his injury, working in spinal units and teaching wheelchair skills in schools.

He is now a wheelchair skills co-ordinator for Whizz Kidz, a charity for young wheelchair users.

"I can make a difference to their lives and I've found a calling that I wouldn't have found otherwise," he said.

Mansfield's Labour MP Steve Yemm has written a letter signed by a group of cross-party MPs, asking for an urgent meeting with Nottinghamshire County Council about the roads.

Richard said it was positive to see MPs looking at the issue, but in terms of improvements, he added: "I'll believe it when I see it."

In his letter to the county council, Yemm said the government had provided an extra £8m in funding for potholes in the county.

He said residents were "dissatisfied and frustrated with slow and impermanent repairs".

But Mick Barton, the Reform UK leader of the authority, said more funding was needed.

He added potholes were a "top priority" for the council.

"This isn't a six-month Reform problem, this is a decade problem from the Conservatives and Labour through lack of funding," he said.

Richard argued that long-term fixing the roads is cheaper than public services paying out for people who become injured.

He said: "I receive Pip [Personal Independence Payment] from the government, and the NHS is paying throughout my life.

"I've adapted and I can do all the things that I used to do.

"But I am ageing differently to other people. It takes a toll on your body, which then takes a toll on your mind."

At the time, he said, he was told by his personal injury lawyers they had looked into a claim for compensation from Nottinghamshire County Council or Mansfield District Council, but this was unsuccessful.

"The roads were completely resurfaced and the 60mph speed limit was dropped to 40mph, and I still don't know who did that to this day," Richard added. "There was no accountability from anyone at that point."

A Nottinghamshire County Council spokesperson said: "We're very sorry to hear about the circumstances and the impact this incident has had on Richard. We appreciate how difficult this must have been for him and his family.

"We have consulted our insurance team, which has confirmed there are no records of a claim relating to this matter, and we're unable to comment further on responsibility."

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