A WORDSLEY cyclist has slammed council highways bosses over their failure to fix what he believes is a hazardous pothole that's been in situ for 18 months.

Graham Fardon, who cycles around 50 miles a week, said he cannot believe the pothole he first attempted to report in the summer of 2015 has remained unfilled and he's worried it is an accident waiting to happen.

The 78-year-old told the News the hole is such a size it is likely to cause cyclists to swerve towards the middle of the road to avoid it - and he fears it is only a matter of time before a swerving rider collides with a car trying to overtake.

He said: "You have to move some six feet from the kerb and cyclists aren't supposed to be out six feet from the kerb."

Mr Fardon says in March 2016 he received an email from Staffordshire Council saying a highways officer had inspected the pothole and it was "not considered to be high risk" but he was told the repairs would be carried out with similar works in the area "to be as efficient and cost effective as possible" - and that more than 50 per cent of road defects are normally corrected within about 60 days.

Nine months later, however, no action had been taken so he sent a "mildly sarcastic email" asking if the officers would like to see a picture of the pothole but he says he did not receive a reply.

He branded the lack of action to fix the defect "disgusting" and added: "If a cyclist didn't see it - it could fetch him off his bike and buckle his wheels."

Mark Deaville, cabinet member for highways and transport at Staffordshire County Council, said: "We know potholes are a concern to people and our highways crews make every effort to fix them as soon as possible. We do have a huge road network here in Staffordshire, with around 6,000km of roads and our crews fix around 20,000 potholes every year.

“We do need to prioritise our main roads where there is the highest volume of traffic. However we understand that minor roads are important to our rural communities and we deal with these when we can.

“We do carry out regular inspections of our roads and our crews did make a number of repairs by the traffic lights last year.

"I have asked our highways team to re-inspect the site and schedule in any repairs as required.”