Company claims Bedfordshire has 'biggest' pothole problem with Leighton Buzzard a hotspot

'A bill in the excess of £200 would not be unlikely for someone who damages their car on a pothole'
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Research has slammed Bedfordshire for having "the biggest" pothole problem in the region, highlighting Leighton Buzzard as a hotspot.

After dividing the country up into a number of regions, the TGA Concrete findings claim Bedfordshire is the worst in its East Midlands zone, ranking first out of eight locations (Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire) with over 800 pothole-related internet searches every month - that's 12 searches per 100,000 people.

Using data from Google's keyword planner, TGA Concrete identified which East Midland counties had "the biggest pothole problem", based on how often citizens are searching for certain terms.

Pothole problemsPothole problems
Pothole problems

A spokesman said: "In Bedfordshire, Kempston is the worst with 39.62 searches per 100,000, followed by Leighton Buzzard with 21.42.

"The average amount of searches per 100,000 people across the whole of the East Midlands is 4.47, meaning Bedfordshire searches for potholes three times as often."

In Bedfordshire, with a population of 669,338, there were 829.5 impressions over the course of a month - meaning 12.39 searches per 100,000 people.

In contrast, in Derbyshire, with a bigger of population of 796,142, there were 77.78 impressions over the course of a month - 0.98 searches per 100,000 people.

Tom Allen, managing director of TGA Concrete, said: “It is no secret that the UK has an astonishing problem with potholes in taxpayers' roads. These holes are dangerous for drivers and can leave cars with unnecessary amounts of problems and damage.

"Repairing a pothole is a simple process. Clean the pothole, remove any rocks or debris, fill it with the required mix, and ensure that it’s compacted down, smoothly and evenly. This process can cost as little as £50 per hole.

"A bill in the excess of £200 would not be unlikely for someone who damages their car on a pothole, so every time one driver damages their car due to a pothole in the road, they could be costing quadruple the price it would cost the local council to fix it in the first place.”

However, CBC informed the LBO that last year it repaired more potholes that it received complaints about.

A Central Bedfordshire Council spokesman said: "I can confirm that during 2021 we received 317 reports of potholes in Leighton Buzzard/Leighton Linslade from residents via FixMyStreet. We repaired 418 potholes in Leighton Buzzard/Leighton Linslade during this period."

Elsewhere in the UK, Hildenborough is the worst, with a total of 161 searches per 100,000 people in their population. Find out more about the rest of the UK, and how the East Midlands compare to the west side on the TGA Concrete website: https://tgaconcretepumping.com/which-cities-in-the-uk-have-the-biggest-pothole-problems/