Road users have criticised the county council for failing to maintain a busy highway where the potholes are so severe, they cause motorists to swerve where schoolchildren walk.

Cass Edwards from Bushey is among a group of people warning Hertfordshire County Council the surface damage along London Road leading away from Watford is now so bad it is just a matter of time before a child is run over.

The problem area on the A411 lies between Bushey Health Centre and Bushey Academy where great tears in the road go on for metres at a time and are visibly a few inches in depth.

Watford Observer:

Pictures by Cass Edwards 

Some drains along the London Road are so solidly chocked to the brim with asphalt and stones water cannot drain away, which Mr Edwards said contributes to flooding and overall road damage.

The ex-advanced driver for the police and military said anything to do with bad road surfacing annoys him “a lot”. Mr Edwards is also a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

He said: “This has been an issue for the best part of six months. But I have been writing to the county council for years about blocked drains along London Road which is certainly one of many reasons for the roads flooding and their deterioration.

“I see cars slow down and pull over into the kerb to avoid the ruts which slows traffic right down and it only takes one bad driver to make a mistake and there will be an accident.

“There are two schools along that road – Bushey Academy and Bushey Manor Junior School – and hundreds of kids use it.

“I am highlighting the fact that Hertfordshire Highways don’t repair roads when they are reported.”

Watford Observer:

Pictures by Cass Edwards 

Mr Edwards said he sent an email to Hertfordshire Highways in the last week of January about the issue and received an automated response, telling him “no fault” was found.

After writing to Elstree councillor Morris Bright, he said the matter was “outsourced” to Bushey Heath Conservative, Seamus Quilty who told him Ringway would assess the situation.

He went on: “I don’t think the contractors have put enough thick surfacing down, it’s a busy road which gets a fair amount of use.

“Someone must be qualified to say at least that part of the road should be resurfaced. It needs serious attention.

“Someone at Herts Highways is obviously just looking at this issue and thinking ‘no, let’s just forget it’.”

Watford Observer:

Pictures by Cass Edwards 

Another concerned road user added: “It’s been reported so many times and it’s always the same response.

“Imagine if someone swerved and one of the Bushey Academy kids or a pedestrian gets knocked over in the process trying to avoid them. People are all over the road trying to avoid the holes.”

Luisa Levey said of the potholes: “If someone would accidentally break their ankle in it and sue the council, then they’d deem it deep enough to fix – just saying.”

Kevin Carrol, Ringway Divisional Manager, said: “Whilst reports concerning the road surface here have been received over the past year, on inspection, they do not meet the county council’s repair guidelines, which ensure repairs are focussed on the most dangerous defects as a priority.

“With regards to the flooding, we are aware of local concerns with the blocked gullies here and works to unblock them are planned in April.”