Woman aged 101 told to fill in potholes on her road by herself
A 101-year-old woman has been told to fill in ‘bomb craters’ on ‘the most potholed road in England’.
Elderly residents in Watchet, Somerset, say they’re living on ‘the worst road in Britain’ with 21 potholes that have made six people fall over.
Two have been hospitalised.
One of Somerset’s oldest residents, 101-year-old Sheila Nicholls, lives there with her husband Bill.
She described the ‘awful’ situation as ‘very unsafe’ for residents, walkers and cyclists.
But Somerset Council has told them it is their job to fix it because it is the fault of their cars, of which the residents have six in total.
Brian Pankhurst, 79, said: ‘The council are not taking into account huge lorries that come down here, as there are always problems with water pipes, great big council dust and waste lorries, supermarket vans, white vans.’
He added: ‘They said we could do the work ourselves and fix them – absurd.
‘We are all elderly residents and don’t have that kind of money.
‘How can you tell I 101-year-old to fill their own potholes?’
The road leads to the former West Somerset Mineral Line, an 11-mile Victorian railway route.
It’s become a popular walk and cycle route connecting the town of Watchet with Washford village.
But the first 100 yards of its entrance are littered with ‘potholes’, which Brian describes as ‘terrible’.
As a public right of way rather than a public road, ‘the responsibility for the upkeep of this lane is complex’, according to Somerset Council.
A spokesperson said: ‘We are looking into ownership of the land and who has responsibility for its repair.
‘Whilst there are some potholes, the lane carries a public footpath which is still accessible for walkers.’
Brian claimed the problem has been ongoing for two years now, adding: ‘It is getting worse and worse.
‘They have tried to blame it on cars – but people have barely got cars round here as we are all retired, it is absurd.
‘Everyone is getting fed up with it.’
Residents of the 10 affected properties sent a petition to the council in 2022, urging it to resurface the entire road rather than filling each pothole individually.
Brian claimed council highways staff dismissed their concerns by saying it ‘was nothing to do with them’.
He said: ‘Since an email in October from the council saying they would come and take a look we haven’t heard anything, they think if they ignore us they can get away with it.
‘The council are trying to say it is our responsibility, but if it’s our responsibility why was it tarmacked in the first place?
‘It is not a private road, it is a footpath – and that is public. Why should we be responsible for maintaining it? That is absolutely appalling.’
A Somerset Council spokesperson said: ‘This lane is a public right of way, not a public road, which is used by residents to access their properties, therefore the responsibility for the upkeep of this lane is complex and there will need to shared approach to maintenance going forward.
‘We do understand people’s concerns and we are going to work with residents to try to come to a workable solution.’
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