Kent’s roads face ‘pothole crisis’ as cold snap worsens

The sudden surge of potholes on Kent’s roads has forced fed-up motorists to take action, as the county gears up for further cold spells.

Kent County Council revealed the number of potholes reported in the first week of January was up 250% on the week before.

Residents in River fear their village’s “pothole crisis” is worsening, as a three-week wait time for repairs to begin is simply “too long”.

Emma Caskey has been filing reports of these potholes to KCC and has been urging other River residents to do the same.

“We pay the most in council tax and receive very little back. Three weeks is too long to wait for repairs. It should be three days maximum,” Emma said.

KCC received 2342 reports of potholes in the first week of January, compared to 667 reports in the week prior, and 338 in the same week of 2021 – the year Kent was named as Britain’s “pothole capital”.

A KCC spokesperson said: “Sub-zero weather conditions can have a damaging impact on the road surface.

“As soon as defects are reported to us, we work quickly to complete temporary repairs to remove immediate dangers.”

But like Emma, Becky Ashbee believes KCC aren’t working quickly enough. Becky had to pay £250 on a new tyre, after hitting a pothole which caused it to bulge.

She said: “I’d never heard a bang so loud, and immediately knew it wasn’t going to be a cheap fix.

“River is plagued with potholes, and it’s a full-time job just trying to avoid them. It’s infuriating how long the council take to fix them.”

Only 4% of drivers think the state of the local roads in their area has improved in the past 12 months, according to the RAC.

RAC figures were released to mark last week’s National Pothole Day.

As a local driving instructor, Angela Miller said she is having to avoid some routes where the potholes are at their worst.

“It’s a nightmare,” she said.

“The amount of potholes have skyrocketed recently, and the damage they can do always worries me when I’m out and about teaching.

“I keep reporting them, and have seen some council inspectors out today, drawing white lines around the holes.”

But with the short lifespan of temporary repairs, River residents have called for more to be done.