Councillors think they’ve found Nottinghamshire’s 'biggest pothole' - and it's the size of a coffee table

Two Nottinghamshire councillors are calling for action after finding what they believe is the county’s biggest pothole. 

The pothole in question, in Flatts Lane, Westwood, is reportedly more than 20 inches deep, four foot long and two foot wide. 

It was found by Ashfield Independents Councillor David Martin, who has criticised the government’s handling of potholes. 

He said: “This is by some distance the worst pothole I have ever seen anywhere. It is diabolical and systematic of the way the Conservatives treat our highways. The Flatts Lane pothole may be the worst example in the whole County, probably the whole country – but the way our roads and pavements have deteriorated across the board is truly shocking.  

“Residents have complained about significant damage to the cars on this one pot-hole.”

"It's going to take your tyre off!"

According to the RAC, there are more than one million potholes in the UK, with these road defects being one of the leading causes of car breakdowns. Councillor Martin has been joined by Ashfield Council leader Jason Zadrozny in calling for potholes in the county to be taken more seriously. 

He said: “That pothole was down a country lane where there are no streetlights, so if you hit that in the evening it’s going to take your tyre off. Blaming the storms for potholes is just not true. It has exacerbated the problem but we’ve let our roads now get to a point where they are dangerous. It’s not just angry men pointing at a picture any more, they are dangerous and we’ve got to do something about it.”

A highways manager from Nottinghamshire County Council said: “The weather conditions and flooding arising from Storm Henk have caused considerable damage to some road surfaces in Nottinghamshire, and this pothole on Flatts Lane in Westwood appears to be an example of that damage. Our incident response team will attend the site urgently and a repair will be made today.”