Ho ho hole - it’s almost Christmas and I’ve been getting in touch with people who will be using the roads a little more than usual over the festive period.

An industry which comes into its own at this time of year is the plumbing trade, and I spoke to a firm which has been done out of money by dents.

Carthy’s, based in Fluxs Lane in Epping, have two vans in their plumbing operation and both have been sidelined by perilous potholes in recent weeks.

Owner Tom Carthy said: "We get a lot of call outs over Christmas for one thing and another. It's an important time of year.

“The roads are terrible and they’ve got worse over the last six years.

“You’ve just got to be careful to avoid the potholes now whenever you go out.”

Both vans were taken into the garage with suspension problems and the total cost to repair them was around £700.

The business also lost around £450 worth of business while the vans were out of commission.

A Royal Mail spokeswoman was resigned over the potential hazards.

She said: “Potholes are just another part of the road system that we have to deal with along with traffic and other things.”

With cracks known to be widening over the winter we can only keep our fingers crossed that Santa’s sleigh stays in the sky and his helpers in their delivery vans manage to avoid the potholes.

If you’ll be delivering presents this Christmas, let me know @pothole_man on Twitter