PROBE INTO POTHOLES: Another contender for worst road

Gazette reader Margaret Whittaker sent in pictures of the route from the north of Longframlington village to Newton on the Moor, linking the A697 with the A1.

She said: “You can easily count over 100 on a very wet day on the entire length of the road.

“When it rains heavily, those who do not know the road may well go through the numerous ‘puddles’ which are in fact holes.

“With the many horse boxes coming along this road to the equestrian centre and all the trucks dropping off supplies to the house builders, more and more of the edges are eroded as cars and large vehicles try to pass each other but end up in holes on the roadsides.”

The comments come after Dr Brian Conlin last week asked whether his road from the East Thornton junction to the main road into Netherwitton was the most riddled with craters.

Margaret added: “A fortnight ago, council vehicles were parked opposite 12 potholes for three days but they did not fill them!

“The filling is piecemeal. But it isn’t about holes anymore, it’s about the road all cracking up, the road dropping away in two places and holes when filled coming out again.

“Three weeks ago, we saw workmen in the rain filling holes by compressing the tarmac with the back of a shovel. So even when filled, the surface is not flat and it comes out very quickly.

“Where are all these magnificent ‘patchers’ we hear about but never see? We welcome visitors to our beautiful county and yet you feel there should be signs up ‘stop and admire the view but watch out for potholes’.”

The Gazette launched its Probe Into Potholes campaign at the beginning of March in an attempt to improve our road surfaces.

The aims of the campaign were to:

Raise awareness of the correct ways to report potholes – the council will not be able to repair them if it does not know of their existence through the proper channels – log on to http://bit.ly/NCCpothole for more information;

Openly engage with you our readers in highlighting the worst potholes. We want you to tell us if your car has been damaged by a particularly deep hole in the road. But first, make sure it has been reported to the county council;

Work with Northumberland County Council to help address them.

Working with our sister newspapers across England, we will support the council in any lobbying of central government for additional funding.