"Worst road in Britain": Takeaways and taxis refuse to visit this Essex road

NationalWorld.com

Angry residents say the "worst road in Britain" has still not been fixed - a year on.  Locals living on the Bel Air Chalet Estate in Essex complained last January about pothole-strewn Seawick Road.  They say some repair work was done in August but workmen downed tools without finishing. Via SWNS.

Transcript

00:00 [WATER FLOWING]

00:18 My name is Francis.

00:19 I've been on the air for about 16 years now.

00:21 The roads down here are absolutely horrendous.

00:24 As you can see by the potholes, people just can't get through.

00:27 They can't get down.

00:28 The old folk, they can't get down to the arcades

00:30 to play their daily bingo.

00:33 Just horrendous down here.

00:34 Even the dustman can't get up here.

00:35 They can't even get the spins on the back of the lorry.

00:38 The road is so uneven.

00:40 [WATER FLOWING]

01:04 You can't get any deliveries down here.

01:06 Like, they won't even come onto the side.

01:07 You have to go all the way down the bottom to get your food now.

01:10 A couple of years ago, when we had the snow before,

01:13 the potholes were that bad.

01:15 Even the ambulance come down, and they got stuck in the hole.

01:17 If someone's, like, half dying on this side,

01:20 they've got no chance of getting into the site,

01:22 because they get stuck all the time.

01:24 [WATER FLOWING]

01:41 My name is Paul Lucas.

01:43 I own a village inn pub.

01:46 Since the road's been like this, I've

01:47 owned it for the last six years.

01:49 But the road has never, ever been done.

01:52 There's been people going over on bush bikes,

01:55 on disability scooters.

01:57 There's no lighting.

01:58 It's just ridiculous.

02:00 The owners of the camp--

02:02 I've had the pub for six years-- have never, ever come

02:04 and seen me.

02:05 The trade has gone downhill, because I just won't get people

02:09 come down this road.

02:11 I think it was last year or the year before,

02:13 a woman broke her hip.

02:15 An ambulance come down, got stuck.

02:17 They called for another one that come down.

02:19 That got stuck.

02:20 Then they had to get a tractor in to pull the two of them out.

02:22 [ENGINE RUMBLING]

02:30 The police was down here yesterday with the council,

02:34 left the cars at the end of the road.

02:35 So they won't even bring their cars down.

02:37 But if they won't come down here, what chance we got?

02:39 [DOG BARKING]

02:41 [CHATTER]

02:44 [DOG BARKING]

02:45 [CHATTER]

02:46 [DOG BARKING]

02:47 [ENGINE RUMBLING]

02:58 This is one of the potholes.

03:00 It's about 4 and 1/2, 5 inches deep.

03:02 But the whole road is exactly like this.

03:06 There's well over 100 potholes on this road alone.

03:09 People's suspensions are snapping.

03:12 Ambulances have been getting stuck.

03:14 We've had one lady fall over and break her hip.

03:16 People in mobility scooters that can't use this road

03:19 because they just can't-- it's not safe enough for them.

03:22 We've got people down here with children

03:23 that need to be pushed along in buggies.

03:25 Obviously, that can't be done.

03:26 We've had enough, and we want something done about it.

03:29 [ENGINE RUMBLING]

03:40 I bought this scooter from my partner, who's a stroke

03:43 survivor, but she just can't use it.

03:46 How can I send her out down this road on it?

03:48 I just got stuck myself.

03:51 I'm not disabled, so I have breathing problems.

03:54 She can't walk.

03:55 [ENGINE RUMBLING]

04:09 I'm Martin.

04:10 I'm from Dolly's Pantry in Bel-Air.

04:14 I've run this shop for over five years now.

04:18 In the last three years, I have lost possibly 60%

04:22 of my business.

04:24 On a Sunday alone, I've lost over 80% of my business

04:27 because of the state of the roads.

04:29 The area manager for the ground comes down.

04:31 He's not interested.

04:32 He just laughs at people.

04:33 He laughs in their face.

04:34 It has become a horrendous struggle to survive now.

04:38 I don't know where the solution is going to come,

04:40 but something has to be definitely done about it.

04:42 [ENGINE RUMBLING]

04:46 [ENGINE RUMBLING]

04:49 (water splashing)

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