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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Luke Whelan & Antony Thrower

'I'm a road expert and I'm sharing the rule which forces councils to fix potholes'

A family fed up with nuisance potholes outside their business for seven years suddenly had 15 filled in thanks to a little-known rule.

The road near Oakland Holiday Park in Brewood, Staffordshire has been riddled with holes which have damaged several customers' cars.

Adam Breakspeare, co-owner of the picturesque park with sister Sarah, said some people had been put off from driving there in the past because of the shabby surface.

Worse still, a handful of existing customers even lost their tyres because of the road.

Fed up he contacted road expert Mark Morrell, AKA Mr Pothole, and shortly afterwards Staffordshire County Council filled in 15 of the issues over a single weekend.

Fed up he contacted road expert Mark Morrell, AKA Mr Pothole, and shortly afterwards Staffordshire County Council filled in 15 of the issues (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Mr Pothole revealed he told the siblings about the little known Section 56 Notice under the Highways Act which gives the public the right to complain.

If the public considers a highway out of repair, complainants can apply to the magistrates' court for an order requiring the highway authority to fix the road within a given time.

Mark Morrell told Express.co.uk : "I was contacted by Sarah from Oakland Holiday Park about the problem of potholes on the road leading to her business.

"She had no success in getting them fixed despite contacting Staffordshire County Council, her MP, local newspapers and the highways department directly.

"Once I received the photographs and video showing the state of the carriageway. I spoke to Sarah about using a Section 56 Notice under the Highways Act.

“I emailed details of the procedure to her explaining each step required. I offered guidance and support with the process."

"It would seem that once Sarah started the process leading to issuing of a Section 56 Notice things have happened.”

In an email sent to Mr Pothole on May 30, Sarah Breakspeare said: "The council have spent the weekend filling nearly all the potholes on the road.

"Thank you for your support and guidance in this matter - I really appreciate it and our customers are over the moon! No more damage to vehicles … for the time being."

David Williams, council cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "With one of the largest and safest road networks in England, it is inevitable we will have a high volume of defects and this is why we recently announced an extra £5 million investment in pothole repairs.

"Road defects are prioritised on location and severity - in this location we received numerous reports of potholes and can confirm our roadmaster went out last week and repaired 15 defects along the road.

“We will continue to monitor this area via our routine safety inspections."

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