DRIVERS from the rural areas around Crediton claim potholes are making the roads dangerous.

Potholes are a recurring problem but Simon McEwan, from Beech Hill near Morchard Bishop, said the local  roads have never been so bad.

“The potholes have been very noticeable since the beginning of January,” he said, blaming last month’s weather for the deterioration of the roads as water seeps into cracks, freezes and dislodges the asphalt.

The 60-year-old magazine editor used to drive along the road that goes from Morchard Bishop to Crediton via Oldborough and Newbuildings every day to get to work in Exeter — but now he avoids it.

Mr McEwan said: “There are dozens of potholes of various sizes all the way up that road. Some are much worse than others. There are two or three really awful ones — three feet long, two feet wide and at least six inches deep.

“That road is too dangerous and stressful to drive in the dark now because you don’t see the potholes until it’s too late, so I go the long way round.

“There’s a real risk of damaging your wheel or tyre if you hit the potholes. There’s probably a risk of accidents too because drivers might lose control of their car. If a cyclist or motorcyclist hit one of the potholes they could get thrown off.”

Mr McEwan, who drives a Nissan Micra, said: “I’ve noticed the hubcap on one of my wheels has suffered some damage. I hit a pothole hard and there was a hideous bang. A year ago, I had a bulge in a tyre and the garage said it was probably caused by hitting a pothole.”

He reported the road to Devon County Council more than a week ago but no repairs have been made yet.

Adam Voisey, 21, an administrator from Newbuildings near Copplestone, said the state of the local roads is “appalling” — even though repairs were done last summer.

He said: “Holes appeared after the poor weather we had recently and they are even bigger than last time. You almost have to drive into the hedge to avoid them. More and more are appearing on a weekly basis.”

Cllr Stuart Hughes, the council’s cabinet member for highways and transportation, said in the last week of January: “Despite working flat out to repair them, more potholes are appearing every day and, although the A and B roads in general have not suffered too much, but the minor roads seem to have really suffered.”

He also said recently that the authority had asked central government for £220m to tackle the backlog of repairs. Since April, the council has fixed 40,000 potholes — double the usual number.

Around 1,200 potholes are currently being reported each week. Potholes can be reported online at www.devon.gov.uk/pothole or on 0845 1551004.