Fed-up residents across South Cheshire have been signing up to a new Facebook group to highlight the growing danger of potholes on the borough’s roads.
In just a few days the new Facebook group – called Cheshire East Pot Hole Surveillance – had attracted more than 700 people.
It comes after our story highlighting the terrible state of the A530 Middlewich Road between Nantwich and Wistaston sparked a flurry of comments.
The new Facebook group’s members have been sharing stories of expensive vehicle damage caused by craters littering local roads.
One member revealed they had to fork out more than £250 for a replacement tyre after hitting a pothole, calling the pay-out “money I begrudge every single penny of”.
Despite Cheshire East Highways’ ongoing attempts to repair the thousands of potholes in the area, frustration is mounting as drivers complain of insufficient or temporary fixes.
Some are taking a more light-hearted approach, with tongue-in-cheek AI-generated photos of Highways staff depicted as clowns laughing over a gaping pothole, and Jack and Rose from the movie Titanic clinging to driftwood while battling to survive in a huge water-filled pothole.
The group’s founder hopes to harness the anger and humour of local road users into meaningful action.
“We’re stronger as a collective,” they said.
“Our roads should be safe for everyone, whether you’re driving, cycling, or walking.
“We need to get Cheshire East Council to take these issues seriously.”
Readers have been sending in their stories to Nantwich News after our coverage of the A530 Middlewich Road and A530 Whitchurch Road.
Reader Mel said: “I had a burst tyre due to driving over a pothole near Alvaston. Disgusting.”
Fellow motorist Sophie added: “I was caught out by Alvaston in December.
“I had a blow out and a subsequent tyre deflation which left me stranded on the Morrisons carpark for a hours. I tried to re-inflate my tyre but it was no use.
“The AA was then called and had to get a space saver fitted and then was taken to a neighbouring mechanic to get a new tyre on my vehicle.
“With this road you have to remember where all the potholes are when driving. Most of the time you are driving into the middle of both lanes just to not get another blow out.
“There was a recent crash down there which was probably due to the potholes!”
Another reader added: “The A530 is disgusting but also, have you travelled along the Nantwich to Weston stretch of the recently resurfaced A500?
“It is already breaking up, the whole road is producing windscreen chipping pebbles.
“I don’t think the new surface was laid correctly, it should have had a finer grit or asphalt to finish it.
“Also the yellow warning lines in the road that warn of an approaching roundabout are way to severe, way to long and not required anyway.
“Those stripes shake your car to bits no matter what speed you are traveling at.
“I tried contacting Cheshire highways on a couple of occasions with no luck whatsoever.”
And motorist Rowen remarked: “It may not be littered with potholes but the A500 is littered with stones from the poor resurfacing works recently carried out along the carriageway.
“If you go onto the Nantwich Facebook forums you’ll see how many car windscreens have been cracked as a result of this and people opting to drive alternative routes to avoid the road.
“Personally mine has been damaged THREE times now. I’ve asked Cheshire East to clean up the stones and they take no responsibility, telling me to contact the contractor if I want to make a claim.
“I wasn’t asking for them to pay for my new windscreens, simply to clean up the roads.
“I contacted the local Nantwich MP who directed me to the complaints departments at Cheshire East. I’m yet to received any response.”
Cheshire East Highways have blamed the winter conditions and continue to urge motorists to report potholes to Cheshire East’s Fix My Street webpage.
In a statement online, they said: “Potholes are worse when there’s heavy rain, followed by freezing temperatures.
“It means that at this time of the year, it’s usual to see an increase in the number of potholes and road surface issues being reported to us.
“We’re not alone in this – it’s something that’s seen widely across the country and a challenge faced by all councils.
“But we understand the frustration that potholes cause and we’re working hard to address the increase in Cheshire East – using our limited budgets in the best possible way.
“We’re committed to keeping the roads safe in Cheshire East and we’ve increased the number of our teams working on our roads to carry out pothole and patching repairs. We do this on a priority basis.
“Our aim is to carry out permanent repairs on road defects but sometimes that’s not possible due to factors including weather conditions, the traffic management needed, or the number of defects that have been identified.
“Because of the increase in potholes at this time of year, we may not be able to respond to defects as quickly as we’d like to.
“We’ll continue to prioritise and respond to road defects according to the level of risk to road safety. Receiving multiple reports about the same location, does not change our response time.”
You can report a pothole or road defect via: https://fixmystreet.cheshireeast.gov.uk/
To report any issues that present an immediate danger, call 0300 123 5020 or 0300 123 5025 out of hours.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan White)
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