by Andy Gray

A Kent town has been rated among the worst in Britain for potholes.

In a nationwide Streetwatch survey carried out by AA members, Dartford - along with Oldham and Blackpool - was also bottom of the pile in terms of litter and dog mess.

Faded road markings, uneven pavements and bad signage were its other failings.

Nearly 2,000 members took part in the survey.

It involved recording the frequency of 12 categories of street blight within two miles of their homes.

Eleven members covered the Dartford area.

Edmund King, AA president, said: "AA Streetwatch is perhaps an example of the Big Society in action.

"We shall share the results with local highway authorities to support our campaign for more investment in local streets and paths - neglect of these areas has a significant impact on how people feel about where they live."

Feedback from members revealed potholes were the most serious issue they encountered.

It comes as Kent County Council this week announced a "pothole blitz".

An army of specialist tarmac firms has been set to work on a month-long, counywide campaign to fix holes in need of urgent repair.

They will work alongside Kent Highway Services gangs in a £1 million drive to fix roads badly affected by December’s big freeze.

Paul Carter, KCC leader said: "We know snow and ice caused damage to the roads and we are absolutely determined to fix the potholes that the recent freezing temperatures have created.

"We are getting in first class, specialist firms to tackle this head on."

Director of Kent Highway Services John Burr added: "Following our extremely successful find and fix programme last year - in which crews filled 31,000 potholes and resurfaced 122,000 square metres of road - we put together a plan, that should we experience a really poor winter, detailed how we would fix the resultant new potholes.

"We knew there would be potholes, and we know there are potholes, but this year we are 'hitting the ground' much sooner than we were able to previously - and we are now tackling this by bringing in even more crews to fix potholes.

"Many of these companies are the same local firms that we used last year.

"The AA's information was based on 11 respondents across the whole of the DA postcode.]

"We want residents to let us know where the potholes are.

"They can do this by reporting them online at http://www.kent.gov.uk/ or calling our 24-hour helpline on 08458 247 800.

"We were pleased to note on a regional breakdown, the Southeast was voted in the top three for kerbs, road signs and road markings."

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What the Streetwatch survey revealed:

*Overall worst areas: Oldham (worst), Blackpool (Fylde Coast) and Dartford

An army of specialist tarmac firms has been set to work on a month-long, counywide campaign to fix holes in need of urgent repair.

They will work alongside Kent Highway Services gangs in a £1 million drive to fix roads badly affected by December’s big freeze.

Paul Carter, KCC leader said: "We know snow and ice caused damage to the roads and we are absolutely determined to fix the potholes that the recent freezing temperatures have created.

"We are getting in first class, specialist firms to tackle this head on."

What the Streetwatch survey revealed:

*Overall worst areas: Oldham (worst), Blackpool (Fylde Coast) and Dartford

*Overall best areas: Taunton (best), Berwick & Borders, and Ipswich

*Cleanest place: Berwick and Borders.

*Worst areas for litter and dog fouling: Paisley and Liverpool.

The next survey takes place the week starting April 9. 2011.