Every Cannock Chase road has a pothole - council chief claims

Councillor Gordon Alcott claims there are problems throughout Cannock Chase with particularly bad potholes or poorly maintained areas on Cannock Road, Rugeley Road, Ringway as well as Pye Green Road.

Councillor Alcott went to the extent of sitting next to a pothole on Brunswick Road to highlight the issue.

"People have been reporting them once, twice, three or four times and nothing is being done," he said.

"They are going through the proper procedure.

"Members of the council are even ringing and still nothing is being done.

"The problems have still yet to be rectified.

"I have been to other parts of the county Lichfield, Tamworth and especially Stafford where they have got nothing like the issues what we have.

"I have been to Newcastle and Stoke on Trent and they haven't got the same problems either. There must be a pothole on every road in Cannock Chase."

Staffordshire County Council is responsible for highways maintenance although the authority has contracted Amey to carry out the work since 2014.

Councillor Alcott's claims a month after the firm confirmed it was contemplating reducing its staffing numbers stating it would be focusing on more 'preventative' measures.

The Cannock Chase deputy leader added: "There are some roads where drains have sunk and all you hear is bang, bang, bang, bang with vehicles going over them all day long.

"They are an absolute disgrace and they are getting dangerous for all road users."

In response County Councillor Mark Deaville, responsible for Highways and Transport said: "Pothole repairs are prioritised depending on the risk they pose to the public.

"All reported defects are inspected as soon as possible and assessed for their severity, which is decided by considering a number of factors like the location, size and the risk posed to public safety.

"Any defect which poses an immediate risk is dealt with as a priority, and we aim to repair dangerous potholes within seven days.

"Lesser priority potholes will take between two and eight weeks to repair."

He added: "It's important to remember that we are a big county with around 6,000 km of roads, and fix on average 20,000 potholes per year.

"We rely on local people to report potholes, giving us as much information as possible so we can prioritise repairs accordingly."