Potholed road is 'accident which will happen sooner or later' - council action 'laughable'

The Bridgnorth Walk and Marathon is set to take place on Bank Holiday Monday, May 6.

The annual event sees hundreds of people challenge themselves to complete the 22-mile walk or even run a full marathon along much of the same route.

However, residents in Ditton Priors and Middleton Priors, which are along the route, have raised fears that the road connecting their villages is now so rutted and full of potholes it is a health hazard and an “accident waiting to happen”.

The road, which runs through Ditton Priors via Middleton Baggot to the B4364 to Ludlow or Bridgnorth, has become unusable at night and residents have previously branded it the worst road in the county.

Next month hundreds of walkers are expected to pound down the road as the Bridgnorth Walk goes through the villages, and residents fear there could be injuries.

Robin Greenwell who lives in Middleton Priors said: “On Bank Holiday Monday our village is effectively hosting the Bridgnorth Walk & Marathon event - and I believe a large proportion of the road in question is on the route.

“Believe me, walkers and runners will have to be extremely careful if injury is to be avoided. The road is an accident waiting to happen, and sooner or later it will happen.”

He said that signs have now been placed along the route warning of an “uneven road”.

“The fact the council has come out to place a few ‘uneven road’ signs around us, in all honesty, is quite laughable.

“It is, for most of us who live in or near Ditton Priors, the key route to Bridgnorth, and for many is used on a daily basis to go about their business. However, it has now reached the point where it’s virtually impassable, and I don’t use the term flippantly.

“Serious concern is growing in the village and it’s the first topic of conversation when people meet. The route is not only used by commuters but also by the school bus that takes pupils from Ditton to Bridgnorth Endowed. It’s used by people to visit the doctors practice in Ditton.

"It’s a lifeline to Bridgnorth for many people.”

Clare Crump, who lives in Ditton Priors, said a number of the roads on the Bridgnorth Walk route near her village are in a similar state and are now “non-passable for vehicles”.

She said: “Around here it is impossible to travel anywhere due to the appalling state of the roads yet nothing has been done to fix it with the walk only a few weeks away.

“Sandy Lane from Middleton Priors to Derrington Road is a way in for those who want to watch the walkers who are sent this way and is just as bad.

“I pay £3,000 council tax yet I cannot use three of the four roads out of my driveway unless I want to wreck my car.”

A spokesperson for Shropshire Council said the authority had repaired 41,629 potholes in 2023, an in increase of 46 per cent on 2022, but added that a “very wet and prolonged winter period” had recently stretched resources and productivity.