Crack down on fly-tipping and 'disgusting' damage caused by potholes

A campaign has been launched to crack down on fly-tipping and potholes in a South Staffordshire village.

Essington councillor David Clifft is urging people to report the problems to him as he collects evidence to present to Staffordshire County Council.

It comes after he said residents have reported a number of cases where damage has been caused to their cars by potholes, with the cost running into thousands of pounds.

He labelled the state of Essington's roads as 'disgusting' and is now encouraging people to contact him with pictures and information through his Facebook page.

He also wants people to report any instances of fly-tipping so action can be taken.

Councillor Clifft, said: "I know it is bad everywhere, but it is pretty bad in Essington.

"We have had thousands of pounds worth of damage caused to vehicles, particularly those with alloy wheels.

"I had one person phone me saying they had gone over one pothole that has been filled that many times and just gets bigger and bigger and he thinks to replace his wheel is going to cost £1,000.

"And we've had a number of other reports with the same problems."

Councillor Clifft said in one case, a pothole has been reported on High Hill, with a depth of 12 inches and a 2ft circumference, and he has heard from at least 10 people affected over the last two weeks.

"The council have said if I can provide evidence, people will be able to claim which will go some way to pleasing people," he added

"I've asked people on Facebook and I'm speaking to people.

"If they take a picture of the damage and location and any witnesses and send them to me and I will take the case up on their behalf with the county council."

Earlier this month residents in Wolverhampton complained their cars were being damaged after potholes in Tudor Road.

One resident, David Hawtin, said his vehicle had been damaged by the potholes and a loose manhole cover that obstructs the road leading onto Church Street and Bushbury Road, Heath Town.

Wolverhampton council said it was aware of the problems and had carried out temporary repairs.

It added that longer term solutions were being looked at.

In October it was revealed that the city council has spent more than £11.5 million on repairing potholes in the last five years.

The total of £11,512,580 was spent fixing Wolverhampton's roads over the period, including £8,424,250 on resurfacing and £3,088,330 on surface treatment.

From June 2014 to May 2015 a total of 4,268 potholes were repaired in Wolverhampton, all of them within one working day of being reported.

Is your road littered with potholes? Do you think it's the worst in the Midlands? Let us know at newsdesk@expressandstar.co.uk