POTHOLE repairs along a bus route in St Albans have led a councillor to question the standard of repairs being carried out across the district.

Cllr Martin Leach said his attention had been drawn to a particular area in St Albans by a resident of Maple Avenue on the New Greens Estate where potholes had been filled in just a few months ago but were now in need of more work after the winter weather.

Martin Thrussell said he had been to see Cllr Leach at a surgery after seeing how ineffective the recent repairs had been as the winter weather receded. He maintained his road and Toulmin Drive especially, had become a dangerous route because of the poor repairs carried out just a few months ago.

Mr Thrussell, 58, said that the council had been out to fill the holes temporarily but within days the bitumen had come up and the holes were as problematic as before.

The warehouse operative said: “I’m concerned that our money is being paid out every time the road needs doing. I’ve a newish car and I don’t want to wreck it driving over something that we’ve paid to be maintained. I’ve seen other cars being damaged driving down there. We pay our rates but this makes you wonder what for.”

Cllr Leach said he understood that Herts Highways faced an “uphill battle to repair the damage caused by this winter’s extreme weather” but he expected the repairs would be more durable .

He went on: “Holes that were filled in just a few months ago will now have to be ‘fixed’ again. I’m not an engineer but it seems to me that questions need to be asked about the standard of repairs being carried out right across St Albans.”

A spokesperson for Herts Highways said: “We have made temporary repairs to the potholes on Maple Avenue and plan to patch the badly damaged areas of the road in the new financial year.”

She advised residents who spotted a pothole or any fault on the road to visit www.hertsdirect.org/highwayfaults where they could report the fault using an online form and map. Alternatively, they could call 0300 123 4047.

To find out more about how the Highways team repair potholes, residents can view a webcast at http://www.hertsdirect.org/envroads/roadstrans/highways/potholevid/