POTHOLES that have left a country lane resembling a ‘Ugandan minefield’ are being ignored by the council, homeowners say.

Residents have been forced to fork out for new car tyres after attempting to negotiate narrow Berwick Lane, Stanford Rivers, which is pitted with up to 10 deep holes.

Stephen Rose, 65, who describes the lane as the ‘worst street in Ongar’, complained to Essex County Council two years ago and is debating withdrawing his council tax unless action is taken.

He said he feared pedestrians and cyclists were risking serious injury by tackling the unlit lane at night.

“It’s just unbelievably bad. There are about 10 holes - one is about nine inches deep. When it rains, it just becomes a quagmire,” he said.


“What’s going to happen is there’s going to be an accident and somebody’s going to be hurt.”


Mr Rose has twice had to replace a tyre – once when his wife pulled over to allow a vehicle to pass and fell foul of a hole.

“The council has just completely ignored this road. Nobody’s come down to look," he added.


Rosemary Saunders, 64, who lives across the road from Mr Rose, said she had witnessed a cyclist thrown off his bicycle outside her home.

She added: “It’s really dangerous. We have to fight for everything up here because it’s just a country road, but it’s well used.”

Neighbour Paul Rocks, who has also brought the holes to the attention of the county council, said the lane had ‘gotten so bad it resembles a Ugandan minefield’.

John Glover, chairman of Stanford Rivers Parish Council, called the authority ‘insolent’.


He said: “It seems to me that the council has completely failed and nobody can do anything about it.


“I would describe it as insolence. The council is responsible for this and to say they’ve been useless is an understatement. Nobody in that department should be paid while this goes on.”

An Essex County Council spokesman said the county's roads had been affected by 'recent extreme weather conditions', but the authority had invested an extra £11m as part of its commitment to improving them.

He said: “The potholes in Berwick Lane are included as part of this programme. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

More information can be found on the Essex Highways website .

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