Elaine Richards is concerned about the pot holes near her home Picture: MATTHEW SWINGLER Ref: 76605-09A MOTORIST has described the potholes on the road near her house as being the size of craters.

Elaine Richards says some of the holes along Covingham Drive and at the bottom of Lychett Way, Nythe, are so wide that only a 4X4 vehicle would be able to tackle them safely.

The 45-year-old phoned the Advertiser after reading a story in last week's paper, in which the Asphalt Industry Alliance predicted a massive funding shortage for road maintenance nationwide would mean ten years of pothole misery for drivers.

She said: "Two sections are particularly bad.

"The roads are totally disintegrating.

"The council keeps coming out and patching up the road and putting yellow squares around the worst bits but nothing seems to be done."

Mrs Richards, of Lychett Way, a buyer for Schneider Electric, in South Marston Park, Swindon, said it was lucky she drove a new Vauxhall Vectra as she believes anything older driving over the holes would be shaken apart.

"If I had an old, rusty car there would probably be nothing left of it now," she said.

"The potholes are mainly on one side of the road so when it is clear I tend to drive on the wrong side to avoid them which I know is not good practice."

Mrs Richards said the thousands of pounds spent on installing traffic calming measures along Covingham Drive, which were later taken out following complaints from residents, could have been used for re-surfacing works.

"I'm annoyed as the motorist is already being caned by rises in petrol prices and road tax but none of this money seems to be used for improvements to our roads," she said.

"I think the condition of Swindon's roads is on a par with everywhere else it is just gross underfunding across the country."

According to the AIA, there will be potholes on our roads for at least a decade because local authorities do not have enough money to fix them.

It says there is a £1.05billion funding shortage for road maintenance in England.

Swindon Council says it is up to date with road maintenance but accepts that in future years, because of the borough's expansion, there would be a need for additional investment.

A council spokesman said: "Given its limited budget Swindon Borough Council maintains the highways to a high standard. We will however listen to any concerns that local people have, inspect specific areas when notified and take appropriate action."

Where is Swindon's worst pothole? Let us know by phoning the Advertiser newsdesk on 01793 501806.

Ben Payne