A PENSIONER has been unable to use her drive for five years after the mother of all potholes opened up outside her home.
An enormous section of road measuring 20ft by 7ft collapsed in Dysart, Fife, and has still not been fixed.
The road – part of the main street through the town – has been shut to cars ever since.
Resident Irene Suttie, 76, has not been able to park her car on her drive since 2010 and claims the giant pothole has “ruined” the town.
Repairing the road has taken so long because locals and Fife Council can’t agree on who should pay.
The row has been going on so long that a jungle of brambles and weeds has grown over the debris from the collapse.
Concern is mounting about the state of roads and it is estimated it would cost £12 billion to fix every pothole in the UK.
Irene said: “It came overnight. The hole came and the next day the wall came down.”
“The council looked at it – they are not looking at it now. Nothing has happened in five years.”
Irene has to park her car as near as possible to her home, usually next to the huge concrete barrier the council laid down as a road block.
“Parking is a nuisance. It’s ruined Dysart. No traffic is coming down. Shops are closing down.
“I’ve been at everybody I can think of – councillors, the planning department – you don’t know where else to go.”
Another neighbour, who didn’t want to be named, said: “One day everybody woke up and it was just like that.
“I’ve got a young child and it frightens me. It’s dangerous. If it was on a building site the health and safety would drop us in it.
“The whole street thinks the council should come and fix it. It’s a total eyesore.”
The cause of the giant pothole is a mystery as there are no known former mine workings in the area. Council inspectors have assured locals the surrounding land is stable.
Across the UK a pothole is fixed every 15 seconds but at that rate it will take 13 years to catch up.
A recent survey found that potholes were drivers biggest road gripe – with 70% of people saying fixing them should be the government’s number one priority for improving roads.
Fife Council said fixing the road depended on coming to an agreement with the owner of a neighbouring property.
A spokesman said the were in “dialogue” with the resident and were close to reaching an agreement at which point repairs could be carried out and the road re-opened.
