22 February 2024 , 10:18
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Tony Blackburn has criticised the state of roads in the country, with him having told fans that he's had to replace his car's tyres on a few occasions because of potholes.
The radio host, 81 - who is known for his work on BBC Radio - took to X, formerly known as Twitter, recently to express his frustrations. He shared his thoughts with his followers on the platform alongside a gif of a car collapsing into a road.
The I'm A Celebrity winner - who is understood to live in Arkley, in the London Borough of Barnet - questioned in the tweet if anyone is going to "do something about the dreadful state" of roads. He said the situation is "quite ridiculous".
Tony Blackburn, who lives in Arkley, has said that he's had to replace tyres due to potholes on roads (Jam Press)He asked his followers: "Does anyone know when someone in authority is going to do something about the dreadful state of our roads?" Tony - who is said to drive a Tesla Model 3 - added: "Thanks to potholes I'm now on my third tyre, it's all quite ridiculous how much longer are we going to have to wait before someone somewhere takes any notice."
Tony also referenced Sir Rod Stewart, 79, in the tweet last month, writing: "@rodstewart we need you." The singer-songwriter attracted attention in 2022 when he helped fill potholes outside his home in Essex. He said at the time that the road was damaging vehicles and that he couldn't drive his Ferrari through the area in question. He shared footage of himself and a group addressing the situation.
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The radio host took to X recently to express his frustration about the "dreadful state" of roads in the country (Jam Press)The tweet posted by Tony has amassed more than 70,000 views since it was uploaded on the platform and has hundreds of likes. He was met with support in the replies, with some of his followers sharing their own thoughts about roads in the country.
One person reacted to the tweet: "The condition of our roads is awful." Sharing their thoughts, someone else wrote in their response: "Same here Tony, it's an utter disgrace!" A third person wrote: "We need more than just throwing a bit of tarmac down to fill in the pothole. Needs to be fixed correctly." They weren't alone in expressing frustration, with others saying the same.
The London Borough of Barnet was approached for comment and provided the following statement from Cllr Alan Schneiderman, Barnet Council Cabinet Member for Environment & Climate Change. He said: "We're on Tony's wavelength when it comes to potholes. Improving our roads and fixing potholes is a key priority for us as a new administration. That's why we're investing £100m over the next 5 years - more than ever before - to tackle the underlying structural problems in our roads.
"With one of the largest road networks in London, and the sub-structure of many of our roads 60 years old and older, it will take us a bit of time but we're getting on with the job. Barnet also has amongst the highest volume of vehicle movements a day in London of which 1000 are HGVs so keeping our roads in tip-top condition is a challenge, but one we're up for. The most urgent potholes are fixed within 24 hours and all others between seven and 28 days."
The Mirror also approached National Highways on this story.