ROADS in Witney are so riddled with potholes that they are of a “third world standard”, one resident has claimed.

Potholes have sprung up across the town, including major roads such as Corn Street, Tower Hill, Ducklington Lane and Mill Street.

Oxfordshire County Councillor Rodney Rose, cabinet member for transport, said the situation was the worst he had ever seen.

The council has put in an extra £250,000 to fix the holes and has set up a new web service for people to report them.

But Witney resident Graham Nowlan, 58, said: “We have got a beautiful shopping centre, but third world country roads.

“It is the worst I have seen it and it is not just a risk to cars, it is dangerous for motorcyclists and push bikes.

“But it is not just potholes – it is also the surfaces.

“At the roundabout at the top of Tower Hill where it meets Burford Road a lot of the surface has gone. It is like a ploughed field in places.

“It is about time they put more money into it. There needs to be a two or three year plan of resurfacing the main roads in Witney.”

Witney Chamber of Commerce member Chris Clinkard said three of his venue decoration business cars had tyre damage, which he blamed on potholes.

He said: “It is a real problem for any business that runs a fleet of delivery vehicles. It adds unnecessary costs to the running of our business.

“We have seen all the news articles about the extra teams filling the potholes but they are still causing issues to us and they are incredibly dangerous.”

Mr Rose appealed for more residents to report potholes so gangs could be sent out to tackle them more efficiently.

He said: “If we can get clustered together the work for repair gangs it does help us in being a bit smarter in our working.

“In an ideal world I would resurface in one way or another every 15 years. That is the way to stop potholes, but it is beyond affordable.

“It would be another £11m or £12m a year every year, which equates to four per cent on the council tax.”

He said the situation was the result of two bad winters, flooding and frost, adding: “It is the worst I have seen it.

“But it is not only Oxfordshire, it is the same the country over. We are as good and as bad as anywhere.”

The county council has repaired about 36,000 potholes in 2012/13 – 12,000 more than the would be expected in a normal year.

It has launched an online reporting service, which has received 300 reports since it was launched last week, added an extra £250,000 to the repairs pot and increased the highway repair gangs from 10 to 19. The measures aim to fill an extra 4,000 holes this spring.