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Video length: 4 min
United Kingdom: one man’s fight against the poor state of British roads
43% of the UK’s roads are in poor condition. For 12 years, a man nicknamed “Mr Pothole”, for “Mr. Pothole”, has made road repair his fight, publicizing the problem with humor.
(France 2)
43% of the UK’s roads are in poor condition. For 12 years, a man nicknamed “Mr Pothole”, for “Mr. Pothole”, has made road repair his fight, publicizing the problem with humor.
In the UK, 43% of roads are in poor condition, according to an annual report. According to official data, one cyclist is killed or seriously injured every week on average due to damaged roadways. Due to a lack of resources, local authorities are unable to keep pace with the deterioration of the roads. So it became the fight of one man, Mark Morrell, nicknamed “Mr Pothole”, for “Mr Pothole”. He has been reporting potholes and harassing authorities in his area for 12 years. Thanks to him, a broken street was completely redone.
“To restore all the roads, it would take ten years of work”
This stubborn retiree managed to publicize the problem with humor, by preparing noodles in the asphalt or parading in a military tank on gruyere pavements. This notoriety now allows him to have potholes repaired throughout the United Kingdom without leaving his home. “To restore all the roads would take ten years of work and 19 billion euros, almost four times the annual budget for British roads”indicates journalist Ambroise Bouleis, from France Télévisions Londres.
Among Our sources
OurSources
March 2024 barometer from the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory
Road Safety press release
Annual report on the maintenance of British roads by the Bitumen Industry Union
RAC repair company
Public data on the number of cyclists killed and seriously injured between 2014 and 2019
