Map showing locations of potholes discovered by Pothole Man (zoom out to see all potholes)

 

I make it my business to know everything there is to know about ruinous road ruts.

But even I, Pothole Man, was astonished at the scale of the problem in Essex.  

According to data released under the Freedom of Information Act to Britannia Rescue, Essex County Council spent in excess of £28m on resurfacing and fixing potholed roads last year.

And so far this year the council has spent just under £34.5m.

While I welcome investment to improve the safety of our highways, this appears to call into question the quality of repairs being carried out.

Pudding Lane in Chigwell is officially the worst place for potholes in the county, with 38 claims for damaged cars in the past two years.

Don't worry people of Pudding Lane, Chigwell, I shall endeavour to visit you forthwith to see the state of the road myself.

The holes cost an average of £50 to repair, compared to an average of £140 for repairing a car damaged by potholes.

The council paid out £18,667.16 in compensation to 2361 claimants in 2012/2013, which is  a steep increase of 1,437 extra incidents.

During my tour of the districts roads, I calculated the money paid out could have been put towards rectifying 373 carriageway craters.

In my quest to rid the district of this blight, I was disappointed there was no time frame given for the repair of the four holes I helpfully identified earlier this week.

A council spokesperson did assure me the cases had been passed to engineers though and would be dealt with as part of a regular program of repairs.

Britannia now estimate there is about 1 pothole per mile of the UK.

Together we can stop Epping Forest adding to this poor statitic.

Help me, The Guardian's highway hero, by sending in your pictures to my colleague at david.eggboro@london.newsquest.co.uk