A Didcot couple is vehemently urging the county council to fix potholes at a roundabout on a main road in the town, fearing that failure to do so will cause serious accidents.

John and Linda Knight have been increasingly concerned for many months about the state of potholes at the roundabout leading off to Purchas Road and Hawksworth on the A4130, which they pass over on their daily commute to work.

The couple has repeatedly contacted the council in recent weeks to express their growing fears about what they perceive to be a lack of effort by the authority to address deteriorating road conditions, arguing that work conducted to date has been insufficient to correct the ongoing problem.

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Mr Knight said: “We have continually been told by the council that road conditions on this roundabout are low priority and that they wouldn’t be doing anything about it.

"The biggest pothole is getting really, really bad now. It’s at least an inch deep, despite having been repaired at least twice in recent months. It needs tarmacking.

“Other residents have been flagging their concerns on the app FixMyStreet. If you zoom in on the area and click on the workman icon, you can see multiple people have reported a problem.

Oxford Mail: The road surface has previously been fixed on numerous occasions, but is deteriorating again.“Cyclists and motorcyclists are going to get hurt if nothing is done and we’re worried the road surface is only going to get worse with winter nearly here and the treacherous conditions it brings for road users. Vehicles are likely to be damaged too.”

In an email sent to Bill Cotton, corporate director for environment and place at the county council, on November 5, Mr Knight said the biggest pothole “must be nearly two meters in length and probably 600mm wide with a bit of asphalt still remaining in the middle". 

He added: “The road damage at this roundabout is going to cause an accident and injury to a cyclist or motorcyclist and damage to cars. The entire area needs resurfacing by a professional contractor.”

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A spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council said: “The council is aware of this recurring defect and has attended and repaired on several occasions.

"Unfortunately, due to the location and the number of heavy commercial vehicles that use the roundabout on a daily basis, the repairs struggle with the required longevity.

Oxford Mail: Another on the other side of the roundabout

“This location has been submitted for larger structural patching work and will be assessed along with many other locations requiring similar work across the county.

"The funding cuts for highways maintenance over the years has resulted in an ever-deteriorating network. This is an issue not constrained to Oxfordshire, it is an ongoing national challenge."