Chief calls for urgent action over potholes in Cannock

Councillor Gordon Alcott, transport boss for Cannock, claims the situation is getting out of control, while garages in the town have reported that many customers have been coming in with damaged wheels and tracking problems. A total of 6,500 potholes have been identified across Staffordshire – a 50 per cent increase on last year.

Councillor Alcott said: "I'm really getting concerned about the state of the roads. I know the county council is busy at the moment with clearing the roads but they need to get some extra staff in from somewhere to take care of these potholes.

"The potholes are so appalling because of the weather – and the grit doesn't help either. When you get a small crack in the road, water freezes in it and expands – making the hole bigger than before."

Richard Evans, manager at National Tyres in Avon Road, Cannock, said: "We're getting a lot of damaged wheels coming in because of people going up kerbs in the snow and people are coming in with tracking problems because of potholes. The trouble is, things are made so much cheaper nowadays – people are going down the same sort of potholes they would have ten years ago – but it's now causing more damage."

Staffordshire County Council highways boss Mike Maryon said £50 million had been invested in improving the state of roads in the county. "Due to severe, ongoing weather conditions, we are looking to increase resources, to carry out repair work," he said.

"A number of factors such as the temperature, weather and the foundation of the road can make repairs difficult and short lived but we employ many techniques to repair and protect our roads as best we can."