By Community Correspondent Megan Dunsby

Drivers in the Spelthorne area are becoming infuriated with the recent creation of potholes in both major and minor roads due to the lack of council intervention to provide sufficient gritting during the recent bad weather. The recent outbreak of snow and sleet led to icy roads and bad driving conditions, roads such as that of Feltham Hill Road in Ashford are a danger to drivers. Richard Priestley, from Shepperton said ‘ I drive down that road every day, the potholes caused by the snow and ice are not only making it more hazardous for me, the driver, but also cause concern for the welfare of the children of the school opposite’. Potholes make it difficult to drive efficiently putting drivers and vehicles at risk, regardless of this though the Council and the Government have not announced any plans to fill these holes and resolve this issue or as to how this would be funded.

Another issue that was raised from this incident was the fact that the borough of Hounslow’s ( Feltham etc) roads were all gritted and yet the nearby towns within the Spelthorne area were not gritted whatsoever. Kayleigh Fryer, from Ashford stated ‘it was really stupid of Spelthorne Borough Council to not apply grit to the roads; it took me over an hour to get to my college in Egham because of the dangers on the road. How come the London Borough of Hounslow Council which is so near here (Ashford), provided adequate grit and yet the Spelthorne Area did not?’

Driver safety should be a priority and not something that is ignored or left to worsen. The Council should invest their money quickly back into repairing the road network which will benefit all.