Potholes are “a human safety issue”, a Labour MP has warned, after an elderly woman died following a fall caused by a pothole in his constituency.
Steve Yemm, the Labour MP for Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, raised the case during Prime Minister’s Questions, saying the tragedy highlighted that potholes pose dangers not just to cars, but to people.
Since speaking out, Mr Yemm says he has heard from many others about injuries caused by potholes, both in his constituency and across the country.
Speaking to Katherine Forster on Chopper’s Political Podcast, Mr Yemm described what happened to Beryl, a fiercely independent woman in her late 80s, who was out shopping just days before Christmas.
“She got her walking frame caught in a pothole as she crossed at traffic lights,” he said.
“She tripped as a result of getting caught and fell. She sadly broke her leg, broke her femur, and also damaged her hip. Because of that, she was taken into hospital. On Christmas Day, she underwent surgery and died as a result.”
As the local MP, Mr Yemm contacted Beryl’s family after hearing the news and learned more about her life.
“Beryl had an extended family in Warsop, a former pit village. It’s a very close-knit community,” he said.
Mr Yemm called for urgent action
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GB NEWS
“She was very well known there. She lived independently, liked to go to bingo and had a large extended family in the area.”
In response to Mr Yemm’s question in the Commons, Sir Keir Starmer promised to arrange a meeting between Mr Yemm, Beryl’s family and the Roads Minister. A date has yet to be confirmed.
Mr Yemm says the family’s focus is on preventing similar tragedies.
“What the family really want from this is that no one else should have to suffer the degree of tragedy that they’ve been through,” he said.
Britain’s pothole epidemic has been blamed for the death of an elderly woman
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“As families often do in these awful situations, they want something good to come from it.”
He added: “Since I’ve been talking about this subject, it’s become clear to me just how much of a human safety issue it is. Other people have come forward — some in my constituency, but also many across the country — who have suffered injuries as a result of pothole-related accidents.”
The RAC estimates there are more than one million potholes on Britain’s roads at any one time, with an average of six per mile on council-maintained roads.
At the end of 2024, the Government announced £1.6 billion in funding to repair roads and tackle potholes, with plans to enable councils to fill an additional seven million potholes per year.
According to insurance firm Admiral, potholes caused £1.7 billion worth of damage to vehicles in 2023.
Mr Yemm told the podcast that MPs regularly hear from constituents about vehicle damage.
“Many, many people get in touch with their Members of Parliament to say potholes have damaged their cars — tyres, wheels, suspension and so forth,” he said.
But he argues that simply allocating more funding is not enough.
“Too often I see — and many of my constituents report this to me — potholes being filled in a very short-term way,” he said.
“Some fellows jump out of a van, pour some tarmac into a hole and stamp it down. I’m saying to the council: let’s think about how we make repairs more resilient. Let’s use new technology.”
He added: “There are better methods and practices out there. We need to innovate, make better use of public money, fill more potholes — but also ensure repairs last longer and are safer for everyone.”
Mr Yemm has launched a petition to tackle Britain’s pothole crisis that you can find here: https://survey.labour.org.uk/roads-mansfield