FRESH calls have been made to completely resurface a "Third World" road plaguing an Oxfordshire village.

Kennington Road, which goes through the heart of Kennington, is currently littered with potholes and evidence of a patchwork of crumbling repairs.

Oxford Mail:

Community leaders and residents have complained for years about the state of the busy road but vice chairman of Kennington Parish Council, Alan Cobb, said the problem was "as bad as ever".

He said: "We had some repairs but the potholes have got deep again after the bad weather. We've always said it is a Third World road and needs to be completely resurfaced.

"But it feels like it is a really low priority for the county council, even though it has to be one of the worst roads in Oxfordshire for potholes.

"We've tried to have it upgraded because of the amount of cars that use it but that would mean the council would have to come out more often to repair it so it hasn't happened."

Mr Cobb, who lives in Kennington Road, said Oxfordshire County Council had originally included the resurfacing in its budget for 2017/18 but this had been removed and it was now looking as if the authority would not do the full work until 2020/21.

He said the quality of repair was also an issue, explaining: "Every time they come it is just a patch job and you know they are only going to have to come out again to fix the same hole all over again. It's a false economy and surely costs more in the long term.

"They also leave the smaller holes and that destroys the integrity of the road, causing even newly laid tarmac to crack."

Gary Trafford, who has lived in Kennington Road for more than 30 years, said he frequently saw workers repairing the holes near his home but it did little good.

He said: "There's a pothole outside my house that they must have done at least three or four times because they don't do it properly.

"I understand that money is tight but it's a waste of money what they are currently doing.

"With the amount of money they have spent coming out all the time they could have resurfaced the whole thing twice over."

The 65-year-old said the road was the worst he drove on in the county and saw heavy use from commuters travelling from Abingdon and Radley into Oxford, especially when there was an accident on the A34 motorists wanted to avoid.

He added: "It has got steadily worse over the years, especially in the last 10, and is the worst I've ever seen it.

"There's a bit of road that has become so built up from repairs that it's like driving onto the kerb when you go over it.

"I have to brace myself every time we reach it on the bus because you lurch."

Mr Cobb agreed and said he was worried that a serious accident would happen while the road is in its current state.

He said: "I used to cycle and I was always having to swerve to avoid the potholes, when there's a car behind you that can be lethal.

"The road is an absolute accident waiting to happen, it's really only a matter of time, but unfortunately it seems to take something like that for anything to be done."