Pothole-plagued road in Iverley 'costing drivers thousands of pounds and hundreds of repairs'

Ellie-Rose Griffiths reports...

A stretch of road in a village has been branded "dangerous" by locals - with more than 100 road users reporting vehicle damage due to worsening potholes.

The situation in Crown Lane, Iverley in Staffordshire has escalated in recent weeks and was brought to light through a village social media group where members shared their experiences of blowouts and alloy damage.

One motorist wrote: "The guy who came out to repair our tyre said he had about 100 call outs for this lane. The local farmer said there were seven in a row.

"While we waited there, two more people stopped to say that it had happened to them too."The issue has not only caused inconvenience and financial strain but also raised concerns about road safety.

'This is a notorious road for potholes'

Kingswinford Tyre shop said they repaired more than 70 tyres in five days destroyed by the potholes on Crown Lane.

Speaking to ITV News Central, Andy Eaton - who has lived in the area for four years - said: "I wasn't going fast but hit one of the potholes and it took my tyre out.

"This is a notorious road for potholes. They are bad enough to take out a tyre easily.

"They are very deep and very sharp and quite large.

"I've heard a lot of anecdotal stories from damage to tyres from the potholes here and there are a lot of drivers now that will just avoid this road."

Jim Roberts, who is from the area, told ITV News Central: "You'd be knee deep if you stood in them."

Another road user wrote on the village social media group: "Christmas Day we hit potholes down there which caused us to need two tyres replaced."

While another said: "I hit a very large pothole on Crown Lane. Sustained a flat tyre straight away. Changed for spare and got it replaced and wheel alignment today."

The feeling among people in the area is that the road needs to be completely repaired after years of frustration for drivers. Meanwhile, Staffordshire County Council said: "We have one of the largest road networks in the country (6,000 kilometres) and keeping our highways in a good state of repair remains an ongoing and costly challenge.

"We are aware of potholes at this location, and will be filling in the most urgent ones as soon as possible.

“The recent wet weather has seen a rise in pothole reports. Our crews, when they’re not dealing with flooding, have been carrying out numerous temporary and permanent repairs to the roads.

"All reported issues are inspected as soon as possible and assessed for their severity. Any defect which poses an immediate risk is dealt with as a priority.

"While we cannot comment on individual cases for compensation, we do have a robust process in place when assessing claims.

"There are a variety of factors that will determine whether the council is liable for damage to vehicles, not just the existence of a pothole, and we have a duty to Staffordshire tax payers to ensure all claims are fair and appropriate."

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