A FED-UP resident driven mad by the state of Britain’s crumbling roads has entered the race for the local elections – as Phil Potholes.
Chris Whitwood, 32, came up with the tongue-in-cheek pseudonym after moaning to pals about potholes in the pub.
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He took advantage of the “commonly known as” election loophole and submitted his nomination with just hours to spare.
Locals in Rotherham, South Yorks, are now hailing him a hero after he vowed to take the fight to the town hall as the Crater Crusader.
He told The Sun: “This affects absolutely everyone and it’s only getting worse. People are fed-up.
“Neighbours asked me what could be done and I thought this was a light-hearted way of raising a very serious point.
“This isn’t just me having a go at Rotherham Council – this is a national issue.
“My car, like many others, has been damaged by potholes that simply haven’t been filled.
“There are chunks missing from roads.”
His pals dubbed him Mr Potholes after he refused to accept the growing number of holes blighting the roads in Rotherham and demanded action.
Egged on by his neighbours, he entered his name on April 5 – the deadline for nominations.
The list of 15 candidates for the Boston Castle ward was finally revealed on Wednesday ahead of polling day on May 2.
The Sun, which has campaigned tirelessly against the plague of potholes, discovered his true identity and managed to track him down.
Chris said: “It’s very easy to be cynical about politics and sometimes with good cause but it can be a real force for good and a way to change things.
“We should have a bit of fun with it and hopefully make people smile, if nothing else.
“It is highlighting an issue and if I win I’ll do all I can to fill the potholes. That’s my manifesto.
“If people like it and if people vote for me and if I am elected – many ifs – then I will take on that responsibility for local people to address the issues that are most pressing to them.
“When it’s something so basic like filling potholes and it’s not being done, people are wondering what we’re paying our taxes for.
“It’s obviously more complicated than that and I don’t propose to change the world but I can bring awareness to it.”
Political researcher Chris, who has previously stood for election three times, said: “If a reasonable number of people vote for me, it’ll be enough for the local authority to sit up and take not.
“It will make them realise that this is something people care about and we absolutely need to make the most of the funding that is being made available.”
The government has pledged to spend £8.3billion on highway maintenance over the next 11 years after cancelling the HS2 project.
The first £150million will be paid to councils to fix the roads over the next 12 months.
The highest volume of roads to be resurfaced are in the West Midlands (600,000 square metres) and East Midlands (350,000 square metres).
Councils were expected to have fixed two million potholes across England and Wales last year – up 43 per cent on the previous year.
But the backlog is growing and the repair bill now stands at a record £16 billion, as compensation claims soar.
An annual report by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), based on data supplied by local authorities and published last month, found one in every ten miles of local roads now have surfaces in a ‘poor’ condition.
This equates to around 22,300 miles. Furthermore, over 107,000 miles of local roads – 53 per cent – have deeper structural problems and risk crumbling completely, they found.
Chris added: “I want to know where the money that is being allocated for highway maintenance is going.
“Is it getting to local authorities? Is it being used to fill potholes?”
Local Kathryn Slater, 62, said: “People will see the name and smile, but it will also resonate.
“He speaks locally for an issue that is national.
“We need someone to get behind, someone we can class as a hero in Rotherham.
“He’s not doing this because he wants to be a councillor – he’s fighting for us and it’s personal.”
Simon Williams, roads policy chief for the RAC, said: “The scale of the problem now facing councils is truly gargantuan.”
