VILLAGERS have expressed their anguish over the state of rural roads.

Residents from Slaidburn are worried that there could be ‘serious accidents’ on the village’s main roads if potholes are not filled in soon.

Cyclists are forced to drive in the middle of road along Back Lane, a main road between Newton and Slaidburn, because of the potholes along the side.

Marjorie Pinder, 75, who has lived in the area since 1964, said: “This has been going for a number of years.

“Now and again the council put a bit of new tarmac on the road but its all washed out the next time it rains.

“If you used a ruler you would see the potholes were nine or 10 inches deep.

“The road wants tarmacking all the way from Newton road to Slaidburn.

“We pay the council tax and yet County Hall don’t seem to do anything about it.

“Potholes are a national menace. Lancashire County Council need to get their priorities right.”

Another resident, who has lived in Slaidburn for 20 years, said: “My car ended up with a puncture from one of the potholes on Back Lane.

“It cost me £150 to get a new tyre. The roads are getting worse and worse.

“The thing that worries me most is that a lot of cyclists use these roads and they have to cycle on the middle of the road for their safety to avoid the potholes.

“I’m concerned there will be a serious accident involving a cyclist meeting a car on any one of the main roads if this carries on.”

Cllr Rosemary Elms, who represents Slaidburn, said: “There are so many potholes in the village and are some really bad ones just 50 metres away from the village’s health centre.

“We have been waiting quite some time for the road to be resurfaced properly.

“We tend to get forgotten about - the deep rural areas.

“When County Hall come to fix it it’s not sufficiently resurfaced and they have to come back again.

“We want them to bring it forward for discussion because of the awful state of the roads.”

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: “Repairing Back Lane is a high priority and will be put forward for consideration as part of our capital repair programme for 2018/19.

“Our highways teams will inspect the roads around Slaidburn again to see if any urgent or temporary repairs need to be made.”