Additional reporting by KMTV's Gabriel Morris

Calls are intensifying for a council to fix a “dangerous” pothole-plagued road amid fears someone could be badly injured.

People living in Tenterden fear there is “no end in sight” as the number of craters has reached a critical point forcing drivers and cyclists to swerve.

Last year, KentOnline reported on the troubled town’s previous epidemic as residents campaigned for Kent County Council (KCC) to take action.

The authority resurfaced the wrecked tarmac in East Cross amid mounting pressure. However, nearby Beacon Oak Road has since become a crumbling state of disarray.

Describing the potential perils of cars and bikes swerving to dodge holes, Tenterden cyclist Sue Childs says disaster is imminent.

“There are potholes down the middle, on the edge, and traffic cannot see us so it’s incredibly dangerous,” she explained.

“There’s going to be an accident here.

“I am worried for my safety. I’m an experienced cyclist, I wear visible clothing, I have lights and I know what to do for traffic, but cars often swerve to avoid the potholes. It’s just dangerous.

“I’ve had to swerve myself to avoid potholes.

“This road has deteriorated in the past four or five years to a point where it’s now outright dangerous.”

Ms Childs says she has reported the potholes to KCC multiple times but feels more needs to be done.

David Ward, town councillor for Tenterden North, says he is very concerned about the state of the road, stressing the town’s pothole crisis continues.

“Just from the A28 down the hill to here in Beacon Oak Road, there are 50 potholes in just 250 metres of road,” he said.

“What’s particularly concerning are the ones which affect cyclists.

“It’s ridiculous and the whole road needs repairing, not just each individual pothole.

“This is a busy road and we’re trying to encourage people to use their bikes but you have to be very brave to want to ride your bike on a road like this.”

He added: “We are in a mess – you cannot let all the roads turn into car tracks.

“The big concern for us is that KCC considers this road safe but we just don’t accept that and I think you don’t have to be an expert to see, especially for cyclists, it’s not safe.

“We want them to recognise their responsibility to fix them and not just ‘patch and dash’ but to repair the whole road surface.

“I think this is one of the worst roads in Kent for potholes.”

Fellow town councillor Sue Ferguson says over the past decade she has seen the potholes deteriorate significantly.

“KCC Highways need to mend the road,” she said.

“There are roads in other parts of the county which are probably just as bad as this, but this is really busy.

“Cars, cyclists and HGVs all use this road.

“The time has come now for action more quickly than in the past.”

Dan Tyrrell, AA patrolman of the year, says councils dragging their heels over repairs means roads are becoming “a worse state month on month”.

“The road condition itself is in a very bad way and the potholes are quite close together,” he said.

“It would definitely be up there in priority to get repaired.

“Road conditions are getting worse and I believe the weather has a detrimental effect on the roads.

“It’s local councils and authorities not keeping up with the road repairs as well so they are getting into a worse state month on month.

“In October 2023 we had 51,541 callouts which were pothole-related. That was 389 calls up to the previous record holder in October 2017.

“It averages out at about 1591 pothole-related breakdowns per day.”

It comes as a father-of-three suffered “horrific” life-changing injuries after his motorcycle hit a pothole in Folkestone – but council bosses are denying any liability for the crash.

Meanwhile, the number of reported potholes has almost tripled in two years as highways bosses trial new kit for better repairs.

And one Kent pothole costing millions of pounds is the most expensive the UK has seen in more than a decade, costing £4.25million in insurance claims.

Quizzed on the latest situation in Tenterden, KCC cabinet member for highways and transport Neil Baker says inclement weather is having a bad impact on roads.

But although he is unhappy with their condition currently, he is pleased council workers are working hard.

“The roads will get better but at the moment they’re not where I would like them,” he said.

“To get our roads into a condition that we want, and our residents want, would cost about £700 million at the moment.

“We have a longer-term funding plan so we can start looking at investing in technology which will help us in getting the jobs done the first time so we’re not wasting time and taxpayer money going back.”

He adds that the weather last year meant KCC staff didn’t have enough time to fix potholes.