Cambridge cyclist bemoans 'broken' roads in city

Cambridgeshire County Council said it was "deploying resources" to fix potholes

A cyclist has asked how soon Cambridge's "broken roads" will be fixed to prevent accidents.

Lewis Herbert said he spent four nights in hospital after suffering multiple fractures and a broken collarbone from hitting a pothole while cycling.

He said the pothole he hit had been reported to Cambridgeshire County Council months before he hit it.

The council's highways committee chairman Alex Beckett said it was "deploying resources to fix potholes".

Mr Herbert, who is a former Labour leader of Cambridge City Council, said cyclists in Cambridge "deserve far greater priority" when decisions were made about fixing roads.

Responding at a full council meeting, Mr Beckett, a Liberal Democrat, said he was sorry to hear about Mr Herbert's accident, and said he knew how serious the effect potholes could have on cyclists, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He said the authority was targeting potholes "where they have the biggest safety impact".

"This council is also putting together one of the biggest investments in highways maintenance that we have seen for a very long time," he said.

"We have recognised that there have been decades of underinvestment in highways maintenance and that has seen a lot of the poor standards that we currently have on our roads."

Earlier this year, a popular cycling event run by Histon and Impington Bicycle Club was cancelled because of the "grave state of many roads on the course route".

Lewis Herbert is the former leader of Cambridge City Council