• 11 months ago
Angry residents say the "worst road in Britain" has still not been fixed - a year on.

Locals living on the Bel Air Chalet Estate in Essex complained last January about pothole-strewn Seawick Road.

They say some repair work was done in August but workmen downed tools without finishing. Via SWNS.
Transcript
00:00 [WATER FLOWING]
00:18 My name is Francis.
00:19 I've been on the air for about 16 years now.
00:21 The roads down here are absolutely horrendous.
00:24 As you can see by the potholes, people just can't get through.
00:27 They can't get down.
00:28 The old folk, they can't get down to the arcades
00:30 to play their daily bingo.
00:33 Just horrendous down here.
00:34 Even the dustman can't get up here.
00:35 They can't even get the spins on the back of the lorry.
00:38 The road is so uneven.
00:40 [WATER FLOWING]
01:04 You can't get any deliveries down here.
01:06 Like, they won't even come onto the side.
01:07 You have to go all the way down the bottom to get your food now.
01:10 A couple of years ago, when we had the snow before,
01:13 the potholes were that bad.
01:15 Even the ambulance come down, and they got stuck in the hole.
01:17 If someone's, like, half dying on this side,
01:20 they've got no chance of getting into the site,
01:22 because they get stuck all the time.
01:24 [WATER FLOWING]
01:41 My name is Paul Lucas.
01:43 I own a village inn pub.
01:46 Since the road's been like this, I've
01:47 owned it for the last six years.
01:49 But the road has never, ever been done.
01:52 There's been people going over on bush bikes,
01:55 on disability scooters.
01:57 There's no lighting.
01:58 It's just ridiculous.
02:00 The owners of the camp--
02:02 I've had the pub for six years-- have never, ever come
02:04 and seen me.
02:05 The trade has gone downhill, because I just won't get people
02:09 come down this road.
02:11 I think it was last year or the year before,
02:13 a woman broke her hip.
02:15 An ambulance come down, got stuck.
02:17 They called for another one that come down.
02:19 That got stuck.
02:20 Then they had to get a tractor in to pull the two of them out.
02:22 [ENGINE RUMBLING]
02:30 The police was down here yesterday with the council,
02:34 left the cars at the end of the road.
02:35 So they won't even bring their cars down.
02:37 But if they won't come down here, what chance we got?
02:39 [DOG BARKING]
02:41 [CHATTER]
02:44 [DOG BARKING]
02:45 [CHATTER]
02:46 [DOG BARKING]
02:47 [ENGINE RUMBLING]
02:58 This is one of the potholes.
03:00 It's about 4 and 1/2, 5 inches deep.
03:02 But the whole road is exactly like this.
03:06 There's well over 100 potholes on this road alone.
03:09 People's suspensions are snapping.
03:12 Ambulances have been getting stuck.
03:14 We've had one lady fall over and break her hip.
03:16 People in mobility scooters that can't use this road
03:19 because they just can't-- it's not safe enough for them.
03:22 We've got people down here with children
03:23 that need to be pushed along in buggies.
03:25 Obviously, that can't be done.
03:26 We've had enough, and we want something done about it.
03:29 [ENGINE RUMBLING]
03:40 I bought this scooter from my partner, who's a stroke
03:43 survivor, but she just can't use it.
03:46 How can I send her out down this road on it?
03:48 I just got stuck myself.
03:51 I'm not disabled, so I have breathing problems.
03:54 She can't walk.
03:55 [ENGINE RUMBLING]
04:09 I'm Martin.
04:10 I'm from Dolly's Pantry in Bel-Air.
04:14 I've run this shop for over five years now.
04:18 In the last three years, I have lost possibly 60%
04:22 of my business.
04:24 On a Sunday alone, I've lost over 80% of my business
04:27 because of the state of the roads.
04:29 The area manager for the ground comes down.
04:31 He's not interested.
04:32 He just laughs at people.
04:33 He laughs in their face.
04:34 It has become a horrendous struggle to survive now.
04:38 I don't know where the solution is going to come,
04:40 but something has to be definitely done about it.
04:42 [ENGINE RUMBLING]
04:46 [ENGINE RUMBLING]
04:49 (water splashing)

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