Homeowner says lorries on pothole-ridden street are damaging his house

• A homeowner in Lancashire has claimed a pothole-ridden road is causing cracks in his house

• The issue of potholes was a talking point during the recent local elections

• There were more than 10,000 callouts for faults most likely caused by poor road surfaces in the first three months of this year, according to the RAC.

A resident on a street full of potholes has said passing lorries and buses thundering over the damage roads are causing cracks to his home.

Lee Boardman has lived on School Lane in the village of Up Holland, Lancashire, for 30 years, and says the rattling on the road caused by large vehicles going over potholes has led to a huge crack in the wall of his house.

He said his property shakes every day when HGVs and buses bounce down the pothole-ridden road.

Boardman said this has led to a large crack on the gable end wall of his home. He also believes the floor is coming away from the wall in his bedroom.

"The state of the road is absolutely horrendous," he said. "They've been occasionally repaired over the years but just spot repaired. The holes are back within a couple of weeks."

He has contacted the council, as well as Lancashire Constabulary about cars speeding down the road.

He said: "It's been ongoing for a while, just recently I decided to try to contact the county council with the feeling it would be a waste of time but you've got follow the rules. I started emailing around March."

Boardman, a compliance analyst, regularly works from home and says he can feel the house shake from his office in the loft when large vehicles go past.

"When the HGVs go over, it's quite frightening really," he said.

"In our house, we don't keep anything on the windows because it just falls off. It's that bad. I'm worried about subsidence, we can see where the wall is moving, there's a crack in the wall. It's frightening, it really is."

He said the crack in the wall is about 40 inches (101cm) long.

Boardman said drivers on the road often fail to stick to the 30mph speed limit, which has resulted in crashes.

He was once forced to move out of his house for six months after a stolen car crashed into another vehicle during a police pursuit, sending it through the front of his house.

He is calling on the council to sort out the potholes for good.

"All we're asking from the council is to come and have a look and do a proper resurfacing," he said. "The surface of the road is genuinely horrific. It's going to do something structural to the house."

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council's highways department said: "We are currently investigating Mr Boardman's concerns on this matter, and we can confirm that we will respond in due course and as a matter of the utmost priority."

Pothole Britain: Read more

• Phantom pothole fixer tired of waiting for council to repair damage (Falmouth Packet, 3 mins)

• Man uses rubber ducks, UFOs and Crocs to ‘highlight pothole problem’ (News Shopper, 5 mins)

• Potholes 'so bad you could grow spuds in them before they're counted' (Wiltshire Times, 2 mins)

• Council takes £5m from reserves as it struggles to fix pothole crisis (Bucks Free Press, 2 mins)

• What causes potholes and why does the UK have so many? (Yahoo News UK, 4 mins)

Rise in breakdowns

Last month, the RAC said there had been a surge this year in breakdowns caused by potholes.

In the first three months of this year, there were 10,076 callouts for faults most likely caused by poor road surfaces, the roadside assistance company said, a 39% increase on the same period in 2022.

The most common problems caused by potholes included damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.

RAC roads spokesman Simon Williams described the state of Britain's roads as “nothing short of scandalous”.

He said: “Drivers are telling us that the UK’s local roads are in a worse state than ever and it’s hard to disagree looking at some of the craters that litter so many of our carriageways.

“It’s not right that drivers who are struggling to make ends meet are having to fork out for new tyres, wheels, suspension springs and shock absorbers simply because our roads have been allowed to fall into such a dire state of repair."

The cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch has been estimated at £12.6bn.

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “We’re investing more than £5bn from 2020 to 2025 to maintain local roads, with an extra £200m announced at the budget, which will help fix millions of potholes a year, making journeys smoother and safer for everyone.”

Watch: Local authorities filling potholes 'every 19 seconds'