Potholes are a serious issue for all of us except it seems the Conservative Leader at Devon County Council, who has just cut £2.5m from the highway repairs budget..

Conservative controlled Devon County Council has just cut £2.5 million from the highway repair budget. This is nothing short of madness, as accidents and damage to cars, pedestrians and cyclists increase.

We can all report dangerous potholes at https://new.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/report-a-aproblem/

Cllr COLIN PARKER says, " I am frustrated at the time it takes to get potholes repaired around town. SHALDON HILL, St MARYCHURCH ROAD are just two examples of many".

As Cllrs we are often contacted about potholes, and incidents where people have tripped, fallen or had damage caused to bike or car. DCC policy now only defines a pothole as a "safety defect" if it is more than 4 cms deep and 30cms wide, or if on a pavement 2 cms deep. Even if a pothole is judged to be a safety defect DCC have up to 28 days to repair it. This is very different from the past when even smaller potholes were repaired more quickly.

The absurdity is that injury incidents have increased which results in a far greater cost to society both financially and of course to the person affected and their families. If you see a pothole that you think is a "safety defect" you can report it on DCC's webpage. https://new.devon.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/report-a-problem/