They are everywhere, waiting to damage your tyre when you are least expecting it.
Potholes litter roads across the UK, with some areas so bad it they feel deep enough to swim in.
And one road with a sense of humour has gone so far to rename themselves ‘Potsholeville’ after the craters remain unrepaired after years of frustrating drivers.
Residents of Old Bridge Way in Shefford, Bedfordshire, erected a ‘Welcome to Potholesville’ sign over the weekend, claiming no local authority is willing to fix it.
The road, which is the only way to access the local supermarket, has been dubbed a ‘Tough Mudder course’ by local Labour MP Alistair Strathern.
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He set up a petition to pressure Central Bedfordshire Council into fixing the road.
But this led to a bit of a spat on Facebook, with councillor John Baker, executive member for highways, writing the developers who were originally responsible for the private road went bust leaving the road with no official owner.
He said: ‘[Stathern’s] job is to raise and address legal loopholes that allow developers to dodge their responsibilities, not to defend them.
‘It is not reasonable for the taxpayers of Central Bedfordshire to fund private road adoption for one company.’
The government has launched an initiative to tackle Britain’s pothole problem, investing £7.3 billion for local highway authorities to fix the roads.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: ‘For too long, drivers have paid the price because our roads were left to deteriorate. I have heard time and again their frustration on footing the bill because they hit a pothole – money they should never have to spend in the first place.’
But is this too little too late?
Well Metro readers have had their say over how bad potholes are in their area.
And unsurprisingly, road users have resorted to swimming in them.
Theresa Wilson told us: ‘When it rains they become plunge pools.’ While Cat Thomas added: ‘Some are so big if you one in a bicycle you would never be seen again.’
Phillip Buck said: ‘In my area it’s the potholes that are holding the road together.’
Readers from different corners of the UK have named and shamed their local authorities
Pam Briggs said: ‘Should see the state of them in Huddersfield in Kirklees they’re like race tracks. Disgraceful.’
‘In Northampton you spend more time dodging them than you do actually getting to where you need to be I’ve seen so many people damage there cars,’ Katherine Starmer wrote.
John Elf added: ‘It’s that bad in Tameside you need to take sea sickness pills before going out.’
A small few have reported of recent repairs to improve the condition.
But there is little hope this will last.
Neil Sayer said: ‘ The main road I live off of got resurfaced last year so it’s not bad at the moment.
‘But going by past experiences I expect it to start being dug up by various different companies for one reason or another so it will be back to the usual state it was in within another couple of years.’
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Raheem Sterling has broken his silence on social media after his contract at Chelsea was terminated by mutual agreement.
Sterling was the first big-money purchase of the BlueCo era, with the winger arriving for £47.5million from Manchester City in 2022.
But the former England international has not made an appearance for the Blues over the past two seasons since being frozen out by Enzo Maresca in the summer of 2024.
Sterling spent last season on loan, but scored just once in 28 appearances in all competitions for Mikel Arteta’s side.
And the 31-year-old has now had the final 18 months of his £325,000-a-week contract terminated, having been forced to train away from the first team since returning to Chelsea over the summer.
A brief statement on Chelsea’s website: ‘Raheem Sterling has today departed Chelsea Football Club by mutual agreement, bringing to an end three-and-a-half seasons as our player, having signed in the summer of 2022 when he was transferred from Manchester City.
‘We thank Raheem for the contribution he made while a Chelsea player and wish him well for the next stage in his career.’
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Following the announcement, Sterling released a short message on Instagram, saying: ‘All eyes on the future. God is great.’
More to follow…
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