Cllr Alan Cummings is angry that Cambridgeshire County Council highways have failed – despite several appeals – to repair the paths in Almond Road which he says are in a "terrible state".

Cllr Cummings said the holes in the paths makes them almost impassable every time it rains by creating a road "full of mini swimming pools" which sees elderly residents virtually trapped in their own homes.
The cul-de-sac leads to a school, playschool and the St Neots campus of Huntingdonshire Regional College, making it very busy during term time with traffic travelling in and out of the road.

Cllr Cummings presented the county council earlier this year with a petition signed by 150 residents and parents asking for urgent repairs to be done.

But he has since been informed by the county council that residents and users of Almond Road can expect to see repairs carried out in 2011, which he says is "just unacceptable".

He said: "This is disgraceful. Almond Road is a very busy area which is deteriorating rapidly. What state will it be in by 2011? The county council has recently decided to put an additional £1.8 million in reserves which could be used to repair some of the terrible pavements in our town.

"I feel so sorry for residents who, every time it rains, have to travel from one side of Almond Road to the other to avoid stepping into deep puddles. I am disabled myself and have fallen over there a couple of times. A dangerous situation is being created. Are the Highways Department waiting for someone to break an arm or leg, or to be more seriously hurt before something is done?"

A spokesman for the county council's highways department said there are about 150 sites in the western division – which covers St Neots – presently up for consideration to be repaired.

He said: "Usually 10 or 15 of those will get appropriate funding in the financial year 2009 - 2010. Some of those up for consideration are very big roads, such as the A141 and A1123.

"On Wednesday (yesterday) our area maintenance engineer is going to have a look at Almond Road to measure if any emergency repairs can be carried out."