LAST July, near Jodrell Bank, I drove into a pothole obscured by puddles, and sustained a puncture and wheel rim damage.
The total cost to me was £210, and no relief expected from my insurer because of the excess term in the contract. I sent details to Cheshire East Council, and in September I received a reply from Top Mark Claims Management Ltd of Glasgow on behalf of the council.
They realised I would not go to court over a claim for £210.
Their letter stated: “Our client operates a system of regular safety inspections for all footways and highways, and we would advise that the area where your accident occurred is inspected twice per annum, with any defects of a size that warrant immediate action, being repaired”.
Now more than six months later I drove along the same lane near Jodrell Bank.
There was no sign of any remedial work to the pothole.
This particular thoroughfare is still in a bad way, but still in better shape than the lanes in my own village, which would not look out of place in a Third World country.
My plea to the council as a taxpayer is that they abandon any plans to update the ugly red signs on the road side, as a supposed deterrent, and shed any further notions they may have of golden handshakes to their executives, and apply our money instead to making the roads safer.
JOHN BURKE Lower Peover
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here