Residents in Wistaston are warning motorists about a large and dangerous pothole on a busy route through the village.
These pictures show how the long gaping hole is affecting vehicles along Broughton Lane, towards Church Lane and Joey the Swan.
One villager Jonathan White stopped to measure the hole while others have reported it to the Cheshire East Council hotline.
“It’s so big I took a tape measure to it and it is 140cm long, 85cm wide and 5cm deep,” said Jonathan.
“My brother accidentally drove through it recently in his Mini and the impact cut out his engine!
“I’m concerned that if the road damage isn’t immediately repaired there will be further damage to motor vehicles. Thousands of people use that road every day.
“Plus, accidents may occur when road users swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid the hole and motorcyclists and cyclists could also be dismounted by it.”
Traffic has also flicked rubble from the hole onto a nearby pavement, producing a build-up of debris.
The hole has been reported the pothole at http://www.cheshireeasthighways.org/Welcome.aspx
It’s the latest in a long list of potholes appearing on major and minor routes across Nantwich and Crewe.
Cheshire East Council’s new environment portfolio holder David Topping recently admitted to a “backlog” of work.
But he says they are earmarking £25 million over the next two years to repairing highways.
2 Years!!! Why should residents wait for so long to get something done? The Council just keep putting things off and hope we’ll forget about them. Time is money and wasting time is wasting money. They don’t waste any time in collecting the Council Tax. I’m beginning to wonder what they spend our money on. We certainly don’t have a say, but we should have some evidence by now. The decision makers don’t seem to be fit for purpose.
So it looks as if Mr White might have to wait 2 years to get the hole filled in, by which time it will probably have become a wide trench. It is yet another example of CEC saving money at the expense of putting the lives of residents at risk – similar to switching off street lights, CCTV cameras, etc. CEC doesn’t pick up the cost of a road accident caused by potholes and poor lights – the cost is borned by emergency services and NHS – so CEC just ain’t interested. The economics of the madhouse!