A CRUSADING resident has started a Facebook group to help draw attention to "atrocious" potholes as and when they pop-up on roads throughout the county.
Daniel Mitchell, 49, is the founder of the Facebook page Potholes in Essex, which covers Braintree, Witham, Colchester, Chelmsford, and more.
The group was set up in April 2023 and has 688 members who take photos of potholes and post their address on the page when they come across them.
Daniel, a Braintree resident for 23 years, then collates this information and every Thursday evening contacts Essex Highways to report each pothole.
The conscientious individual, who acts as a pothole vigilantly in his spare time, then updates each Facebook post once he has heard back from the authority.
Speaking about what inspired him to start the campaign, he said: “My son lived in Witham and the road he lived on was atrocious, I often drove him around and I was so wound up.
“I reported my son’s road, and it was resurfaced a month later.
“I always hear other people say ‘I’ve hit this pothole’ or something on those lines, so the idea for the Facebook page just clicked.
“Once I hear back from Essex Highways, whether I get positive or negative replies, I comment on each post and update the member saying 'this is the outcome'.”
On average, Daniel sends between 15 to 20 new reports of potholes to Essex Highways each week.
According to Daniel, since the group’s creation, “more than three quarters” of the potholes reported on the page have been fixed by Essex Highways.
Although Daniel does not believe Essex Highways and Essex County Council are doing enough to solve the pothole issues across the county, he is delighted the page is continuing to grow and have an impact.
He said: “It feels great, I’m not just doing it for me, it is for general society.
“I would like people to be aware of the group, by people passing on these reports, it kicks Essex Highways when needed."
To join the group, head to tinyurl.com/5es2cxmb.
A spokesman for Essex Highways said: “Essex Highways maintains over 5,000 miles of roads.
"In order to maximize our resources, we have to fix the most urgent issues first, however, all defects reported to us are assessed and monitored by an inspector.
“We encourage members of the public to report any defects or issues they find through our online Tell Us tool at essexhighways.org/tell-us."
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