Beckbury residents vent pothole anger

Residents in a Shropshire village say potholes are so common they amount to "tax" on rural drivers.

Businessman Ian Field, who lives in Beckbury, says he has spent £6,000 on vehicle repairs in the last two years.

He has written to the government with a dossier of photographs showing a dozen large potholes.

He says they are strewn across all major routes into the village and many of them are deep, posing a danger to vehicles.

"I’d go as far to say that this is akin to an additional tax for residents or a small business operating in a rural area – you simply wouldn’t have this in a major town," he said.

A Shropshire Council spokesman said the local authority was "working hard to identify and tackle potholes and other defects".

He said the number of potholes typically increase by about a fifth at this time of year and the recent weather had "amplified the problem".