Potholes in Leighton Buzzard 'too dangerous' for bikers - and have caused hundreds of pounds of damage to cars

A Leighton Buzzard biker says potholes are keeping him off the roads.

Mario Ciancio has slammed the state of the town’s roads, saying they have cost him money and make him feel unsafe.

And he is calling on Central Bedfordshire Council to take action over the issue.

He said: “I'm a cyclist, motorcyclist, and motorist. But I never go on my bike or motorbike in town anymore – it’s too dangerous.

“Potholes have damaged two of my car tyres recently, costing £200 and the suspension in my car and my wife's car has been damaged due to potholes.

"Church Street is particularly appalling. There are potholes on both sides of the road and it’s bad along Stoke Road for half a mile.

“You try to dodge the holes and are not watching anything else, it’s dangerous.

“People have reported so many potholes on Fix My Street. The council says they are fixed – but they are not.”

Mario says the situation is so bad he is even considering boycotting the upcoming local elections.

“I don't feel like voting for any of the political parties. None have really mentioned the potholes apart from Labour, but no-one is really getting on top of it,” he said.

“It’s also bad on Plantation Road, and if you dip down Plantation Road to Rushmere.

“The council's contractors recently filled in one pothole on Plantation Road with a black sponge mix. But it's already sinking. Bits are spilling out when you drive across it.

“There are loads of potholes on Plantation Road – why send the contractors there and only fix one?

“Why spend money on schemes which no-one wants, such as narrowing Heath Road, and the dangerous cycle lanes on Lake Street. Why not fix all the potholes instead?”

Central Bedfordshire Council has signed up a new highways contractor, Milestone Infrastructure, who started work on April 1.

The seven-year contract includes maintaining and improving roads, pavements, rights of way, drainage, bridges, and other structures.

The council said freezing conditions combined with prolonged periods of heavy rain have led to an increase in potholes which residents have been reporting.

A spokesman said: “As part of the new contract, Milestone Infrastructure’s primary focus will be on fixing these potholes and we apologise in advance for any delays residents may experience whilst the teams undertake this work.

“Due to the continued cold and wet weather conditions, further potholes are likely to appear, so residents who notice a new pothole on the Central Bedfordshire road network are asked to report them online, so we can investigate them further and repair them if appropriate. Any potholes already reported do not need to be reported again.

“We currently have six pothole teams in operation, working across an even spread of our wards so that all areas will receive repairs at a similar rate. We would like to apologise in advance for any delays residents may experience whilst the teams undertake this work.

“In an emergency, dangerous potholes or other safety-related issues can be reported to our 24-hour emergency team on 0300 300 8049.