It could hardly have a more inappropriate name. But for residents it is no laughing matter that a road full of ruts and potholes is called Mount Pleasant.

The treacherous street, which is partly owned by Network Rail, is being blamed for broken bones and keeping some elderly people afraid to leave their homes.

The uneven track, which leads off Chatham Hill near Luton Arches in Chatham, is rutted and riddled with deep potholes.

Mothers struggle to wheel their buggies up the steep hill, visitors have to park their cars streets away and even the pizza man refuses to deliver to the row of 10 terraced houses at the top.

Householders have spent the past two years battling with the multimillion-pound rail corporation, which uses the private road regularly to gain access to the track at the bottom.

But despite a steady flow of emails between resident Donna Eldridge and Network Rail, in which it admits being "responsible for a fair and reasonable contribution towards the cost" of maintenance, nothing has been done.

Father-of-four Glenn Swallow, 50, who has lived there with wife Wendy for 26 years, said: "It has just got worse. We pay our council tax like anyone else.

"It's like we are the forgotten road. You can't even find us on Google Maps."

Mrs Eldridge, 51, who has been leading the campaign, said: "We have offered to help by coming up with contractors who could do the resurfacing work and some of us are prepared to contribute.

"All it would take is a bit of goodwill and it wouldn't cost a fortune."

"It's like we are the forgotten road. You can't even find us on Google Maps..." - Glenn Swallow

Mrs Eldridge, a deputy director of nursing at Medway and Maidstone hospitals, moved in 18 years ago with her husband Gary and their daughter Jade.

She said: "Most of us have lived here a long time and are getting older and more frail."

Mrs Eldridge has highlighted the plight of her neighbour Brenda Thompson, 84, who has suffered a stroke and now relies on a walking stick to get about.

Great-grandmother Mrs Thompson said while she liked her independence she now feared venturing out of the terraced home where she has lived for 33 years.

And another elderly person's carer fell and broke her leg after tripping up on the uneven surface.

She said: "Unfortunately, Mrs Thompson is more or less a prisoner in her own home. It is very difficult to get up or down either by car or foot.

"She has lived there many years and remembers how she used to walk safely from her home into the town and be proud to do so."

Doreen Osborn, 74, said the road had always been a problem and they had "just got used to it".

She said: "We have complained, but nothing is ever done. It would seem they are shirking their responsibilities."

A Network Rail spokesman said: "We are aware of calls to carry out improvement work on this short piece of road and are looking into our responsibilities for its maintenance."

Is your road as bad as this? Do you have a problem with potholes? Leave a comment below.