A 'LETHAL' road near Tenbury is in such a poor condition that up to nine cars have been damaged in one day according to one woman.

Charlotte Dukes, from Leysters, claims a stretch of the A4112 – between Leysters and Kimbolton – initially contacted Herefordshire Council last summer to report the 'significant' issues on the road.

Those 'issues' included a number of potholes and debris on the road left by damaged cars.

A number of short-term repairs were completed at the time but Charlotte claims these were only 'quick-fixes'.

“What has now happened is that the temporary repairs that were made last year have completely disintegrated,” she said.

“Furthermore, the road is in such a poor condition in general that other holes are opening up in new places too. I said at the time that I last contacted the council that the road needed full and proper resurfacing and this has not happened, and it is an issue that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”

Charlotte claims that just earlier this month – on January 9 – she witnessed up to nine cars damaged due to the condition of the road.

“Due to oncoming traffic, I and many others were forced into one particularly large pothole. I was lucky enough to be aware of this pothole – and the others – and was therefore going slowly enough to avoid causing damage to my vehicle.

“Not so the three other drivers I came across in the space of a minute who were changing wheels at the side of the road as a result of this pothole.

“On my way home an hour later, I came across another two drivers changing wheels on the same stretch of road. A neighbour I spoke to who had travelled this road an hour after I returned home had seen an additional four vehicles with flat tyres again on the same stretch of road.”

And although work has been carried out on two separate occasions and two of the worst potholes have been fixed, several others remain untouched, she says.

“I have never known an 'A' road to be in such lethal condition and I am frankly stunned that this council believes they can ignore such a huge problem.”

Kerry Thomson, communications officer at Herefordshire Council, said that some 'reactive, temporary' repairs had been carried out along the stretch last week and the area is now included for consideration for the future programme of works for permanent repair.

“Inspections to this stretch of highway are conducted on a monthly basis and repair work needed is logged, however we are aware that some potholes which have been categorised at a certain degree of lower urgency may deteriorate more quickly than usual due to the weather and time of year,” she added.

“We are monitoring this and responding as appropriate and any potholes that pose immediate danger will be made safe within 24 hours.”