DRIVING instructors say the explosion in potholes on Oxfordshire’s ice ravaged roads are causing chaos for learners.

Bev Warner, an independent instructor from Witney, said West Oxfordshire’s roads are in the worst condition she has known in the 44 years she has lived there.

Ms Warner, 48, who has run her own driving school for 15 years, said she was having to teach pupils to straddle the middle of the road or position themselves incorrectly at junctions to avoid potholes.

She added: “It looks like my pupils are driving after they’ve just come out of the pub because they’re having to swerve around so much to avoid the potholes.

“I’ve also had to grab the wheel a few times to make sure my car doesn’t go into one.

“They are a real hazard for my livelihood. I’ve had 10 days of work cancelled by bad weather so I can’t afford to be off the road if I hit one.”

Learner driver Elizabeth Hambidge, a Year 13 pupil at Henry Box School, said: “I have hit a few potholes but it’s difficult because you find yourself veering off into the other side of the road to avoid damaging the car but at the same time you have to stay safe.”

Alison Fathers, manager of Auto Taxis Ltd based in the Radley Road Industrial Estate, said she feared it is only a matter of time before one of her fleet of 14 vehicles is damaged by a pothole.

She said: “The roads are in a worse state than after the 2007 floods.

“It’s definitely the worst I’ve ever seen them.”