'It's just getting worse' - Transport firms counting the cost of pothole repairs on West Midlands roads
Transport firms across the region say pothole problems in the West Midlands are getting worse - as figures show a quarter of small firms have been affected.
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According to research by the Federation for Small Businesses(FSB), almost half of small firms were negatively impacted by potholes last year, including damage to work vehicles, missed meetings and road accidents.
A quarter (24%) of small firms say pothole damage has cost them more than £300 in the last 12 months.
Last week, the Government announced an extra £1.6 billion in funding for local authorities to tackle what they described as a "pothole plague" - with every council in England now required to publish figures on how many potholes they’ve filled or risk losing the extra cash.
Ian Francis, who runs TCs Haulage in Shropshire, described the problem as "horrendous" and says there are areas across the region where his firm's drivers have memorised the locations of some of the worst ones.
"It's not just us, it's everybody - it's a bit of a shambles but that's life in general at the moment," he said.
"We travel around the West Midlands a lot and it's just horrendous at the minute. I understand they have budgets to stick to but the damage being caused is just horrendous.
