has sworn to fix the state of Britain’s creaking roads after raging about having to change three tyres because of dreadful potholes.
The , 81, who was also the first winner of way back in 2002, is apparently on a mission to raise awareness about the poor road surfacing near his home.
Blackburn, who drives a Tesla Model 3 car, when your car suddenly and violently dips into a crater the council haven’t filled in yet.
He said: ‘Does anyone know when someone in authority is going to do something about the dreadful state of our roads? Thanks to potholes I’m now on my third [new] tyre.’
The former radio host, who was the first person to broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1967, lives on the outskirts of Barnet with his wife Debbie Thompson.
As reported by , he continued: ‘It’s all quite ridiculous. How much longer are we going to have to wait before someone somewhere takes any notice?’
Last year, the London Borough of Barnet Council announced that £8 million of additional investment would be dedicated to tackling the problem of potholes in the local area.
The funds were made available after it was found that pothole reports in the Barnet area had jumped up a whopping 95% during the winter period of 2022 and 2023.
Local man Derrick Brown fumed on social media: ‘There is always enough tarmac for speed bumps but never enough to fill potholes.’
A by Smart Survey in February 2024 claimed that Barnet is ‘the worst place in the UK’ for potholes, with a ‘fix rate’ of just 32.6%, meaning that over 60% of reported potholes are still lying unfixed.
Another Barnet resident, Richard Earle, agreed with the report: ‘Our cars have to be roadworthy and pay road taxes but roads are not car worthy.’
Meanwhile, another local, Anne Waters, said: ‘It’s a total disgrace, this country is going to the dogs. I blame all the lack of finance on privatisation and outsourcing – before those days things were much better.’
Barnet councillor Alan Schneiderman : ‘We know that maintaining roads and dealing with potholes are very important to our residents, and we are responding to this by investing more in our highways.’
He continued: ‘Well-maintained roads and pavements are safer for everyone. That’s why we boosted funding immediately after taking control of the council last year and have now agreed to invest an additional £8million.
According to figures published by the council, they will have spent a total of almost £17m on roads and pavements in 2023 and 2024.
One person Blackburn might turn to is by himself because ‘nobody could be bothered’ to fix them.
The Maggie May singer, 79, got his hands dirty two years ago after struggling to get his expensive Ferrari down the roads near his home.
