A frustrated walker has called out Herts county council for neglecting a lane riddled with potholes.

Herts Advertiser: The poorly kept Ragged Hall LaneThe poorly kept Ragged Hall Lane (Image: Archant)

Phillip Parr, of Deva Close, often walks down Ragged Hall Lane in St Albans, and has made numerous complaints to Herts county council about the increasing number of potholes and piles of mud.

He has raised concerns about the safety of drivers using the lane, which he said could be surprisingly busy. He commented: “The road is hardly a major thoroughfare but it does attract several fast-moving cars and vans seeking shortcuts via satnavs. Oddly it is not subject to a 30 or 40 mph speed limit.

“Between Hawthorn Way and the start of the woods, where the lane turns sharply left, the condition of the road is atrocious: piles of mud in the centre and at the sides, often masking quite deep potholes.

“The route is in a dangerous state if a car had to brake suddenly in all the mud.”

Phillip said that after contacting Herts county council on numerous occasions over the past two years, he has yet to receive a response about why the road has been neglected.

He has also been in touch with St Albans district council which had tried to get a response with no success.

Phillip went on: “If you were to drive down in the dark and have to swerve out of the way of an oncoming car then there’s no doubt you would damage you car’s suspension.

“They need to fill in the potholes but not in the careless way in which they fill in potholes where it crumbles away a week later seen on other roads in St Albans.”

Kevin Carrol, Ringway divisional manager working on behalf of Herts county council, said: “Ragged Hall Lane is inspected annually, with the last inspection taking place at the end of October 2015.

“Although there have been reports of general faults with the surface during 2015, very few of those reported met the county council’s intervention level; those that did were repaired.

“Our Local Area Team will visit the location this week to see whether there has been any deterioration since the inspection; any faults that are within intervention levels will be scheduled for repair.”