Thousands join community potholes campaign

Graham Payne is urging people to share pictures and locations of potholes

More than 6,000 people have joined a Facebook group campaigning to cut the number of potholes on the roads in north Devon.

Members of North Devon Pothole Community share pictures and locations of potholes as well as the damage done to their cars by potholes.

Graham Payne, who started the group about a year ago, also wants to tackle what he called "costly and inefficient repairs" by Devon County Council contractors.

The council said it "prioritised our roads" to "get best value from the limited resources we have".

'Main priorities'

Mr Payne said he wanted to create a community interest group, a special type of limited company which exists to benefit the community rather than private shareholders, to give the campaign more weight.

"We are particularly disadvantaged here in north Devon because whilst we have a third of the geographical area, we have only 20% of the population," he said.

"So therefore they don't pay any attention to us."

Devon County Council said roads maintenance was "one of our main priorities".

A spokesperson said: "Since last year we repaired 12,756 potholes in north Devon and we are carrying out patching works and planning resurfacing and surface dressing schemes in the area."

The local authority is receiving more than £6.6m for road repairs, it was announced in December 2023.

The council said the funding was "very welcome", but it would "not enable us to repair every road".

"We have to prioritise our roads across the county so we can get best value from the limited resources we have," it added.

Karen Carter got more than 7,200 likes for a picture of a pothole with her dachshund

Facebook group member Karen Carter got more than 7,200 likes for a picture of a pothole with her dachshund Lottie Little Legs.

She said her business supplied garden centres, holiday parks and farm shops, "so if those tourists don't come, we don't sell our product and our family income suffers".

She said: "If tourists are stuck in traffic for hours because there are accidents caused by the potholes or they sustain damage to their vehicles, they're not going to come any more."