Bridgnorth-to-Broseley potholes: Three burst tyres in three days

A driver has said he is more fearful of one road in Shropshire than Arctic conditions after potholes caused three burst tyres in three days.

Ken Addison is just the latest driver whose car has been damaged on the B4373 Bridgnorth-to-Broseley route.

Dr Addison said he feared ending up in the path of oncoming traffic in the bid to avoid potholes.

Shropshire Council has pledged to investigate.

The authority said it had agreed payments of more than £215,000 in pothole claims since 2022.

Dr Addison said he had counted nine dangerous potholes on the B4373.

Despite spending time in the Arctic, he said, he was now "somewhat afraid" driving in the county.

He added he had to be "constantly aware of the potholes" and "the need to swerve to avoid them at the last minute".

"But then," he said, "you've got the danger of oncoming traffic."

Other drivers have described seeing near-misses that could have had serious consequences.

One, Steve Frisby, said: "A cyclist came down, didn't see the hole because it was full of water and he just lost control and he fell off to the right into the traffic."

David Mee, who runs a garage in Bridgnorth, said he was fixing cars damaged by potholes two or three times a week.

The council said a contractor would visit the B4373 this week to assess and rectify safety defects.

The authority added it currently had 144 open claims relating to what it called "pothole property damage".

Crews were out every day repairing potholes and other issues, and carrying out proactive resurfacing and surface dressing, according to the council.

It told the BBC that since April 2021 it had repaired more than 90,000 potholes across the county.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk