Britain’s biggest pothole is length of a double-decker bus
An enormous “crater” the length of a double decker bus has appeared on a road in a Wiltshire hamlet.
The area in Charlton-All-Saints has been plagued with flooding issues since Oct 2023. But with the water eventually cleared after a winter of repeated freezing and thawing, a huge pothole was revealed. It is 41 feet long, seven feet wide and eight inches deep.
Residents of the village, which has only 60 dwellings and dates back to the 17th century, have described the pothole as the biggest for miles around, saying that small cars will be “grounded” if they try to tackle it and that drivers have had vehicles damaged when trying to negotiate it.
And they are “fed up” with the lack of progress, which has meant one of the two access roads to their homes put out of use.
Villagers have accused Wiltshire council of “papering over the cracks” with slapdash repairs.
David Bennett, 76, has lived in the area for 10 years but says the ever-growing hole on Warrens Lane is making life a misery.
He said: “It’s got to be one of the biggest around,” adding that efforts from the council to fix the road with cold tar have been unsuccessful.
“When they use the cold tar it’s not a permanent fix as they keep breaking up,” he said. “Then the rain started and frost that followed. The hole stayed under water for seven months.
“Dog walkers, runners, cyclists would normally use that road to go to the bus but they couldn’t use it.”
Mr Bennet, a retired corporate communications worker, added: “If you drive a small car through there, you will ground it.”
Vince Jenkins, 64, who has lived on the corner of the road for 11 years, has never seen road damage as bad in the area.
“A number of people have had their tyres wrecked and cars scraped,” the retired technology worker said. “When it was covered in water, delivery drivers didn’t know it was there.”
Mr Bennett said the “number one issue” was addressing the water that overflows from nearby ditches, which has not been cleared “for a number of years”.
He continued: “It needs the whole section of road stripped back and rebuilt with hot tar. That way they wouldn’t be wasting money having to redo it.
“When you paper over the cracks it doesn’t last long.”
Nick Holder, Wiltshire council’s cabinet member for highways, said teams were heading out to the site to “carry out some temporary repairs”.
“We have been aware of this issue, but as it has been under water for some time due to the unprecedented high groundwater levels, so unfortunately we have been unable to start any work to repair it,” he said. “Water levels have now receded to a level that will enable works to be undertaken.
“While other councils around the county are cutting budgets, we are investing millions into the everyday things that matter to people, such as filling potholes and resurfacing roads; and that is on top of the tens of millions we already spend on these highways issues with Government grants.
“We have allocated an extra £10 million over the next two years to spend on filling potholes and a road resurfacing programme that will help to prevent potholes and other highways defects across all areas of the county.”
