We tell the Highways about potholes, we even give postcodes and send photos. Eventually a man comes out with an aerosol spray and marks a few. Nothing happens and the spray wears off.

Another bloke comes out with a different coloured spray and marks some but not others.

Oxford Mail:

Park End Street, Oxford. The county council has recently said it does not have enough money to get to the bottom of the county’s pothole problem and it says budget cuts mean that resurfacing all of the county’s roads would only be complete once every 255 years

Eventually a lorry and workmen arrive weeks later. They stand on three and mend one before driving off to decipher more psychedelic colouring on the road surface. Another bloke comes out with a spray can and marks the ones that individuals have complained about, then out comes the team in their lorry who again stand on a number of holes worse than or related to the ones they are doing but leaving them. The process wastes a good deal of ratepayers’ money so the council will inevitably be short of funds.

Meanwhile we continue to trip over them, twist our ankles, fall off our bikes or ruin our car suspension.

Today’s letters

Would it be within the bounds of possibility to start a team off one end of the village and get them to work systematically to the other end repairing all the holes before swanning off?

I would like them to try such an experiment in Holton. I would even walk the village with the foreman to point out all the holes and hazards.

Then once the system is up and running other localities might benefit from some common sense.

The Rev Toddy Hoare

Pond Farm House

Holton

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.