RESIDENTS are angry after a shoddy batch of road fill left a recently resurfaced road in tatters.

Kingswood Avenue in Park North was only resurfaced last October following a campaign by residents and local councillors to end Swindon’s reputation as a pot-hole hotspot.

But four months on and the road has already broken up, leaving drivers having to dodge vicious potholes.

“Every time a bus drives past and goes down a pothole the whole house shakes,” said Glenn Stanley, who lives in Kingswood Avenue.

“They resurfaced the road last year and we were told that they were going to put new material on there that was guaranteed for at least two years.

“But the top layer has already broken up. I’m not an expert on this but it should last longer than this.”

Glenn said that the weather had caused damage but that did not explain why the road had become worn so quickly, and queried whether the repairs would come at more taxpayers’ expense.

A Swindon Council spokesman said faulty materials had been to blame for the deterioration of the road and it would be replaced at no cost to the council.

Coun Mark Dempsey (Lab, Walcot and Park North), who campaigned for the road to be resurfaced last year, echoed residents’ anger at the state of the road only months after it had been resurfaced.

He said: “As local councillors, we campaigned to get Kingswood Avenue resurfaced. “The work was finally done six months ago but since then the surface has broken up and is now a real hazard to motorists and cyclists.

“The poor state of our roads has led Swindon to dubbed Pothole City.

“That’s why we need proper investment in our roads and to make sure the job is done properly. “Labour’s policy is to spend ‘one-off’ central government grants to fix the many potholes in Swindon so that our local roads are kept in good condition.”

The council have said the debacle was a result of faulty materials being used to resurface the road.

A council spokesman said: “Although the recent wet weather hasn’t helped, the problems with the road surface on Kingswood Avenue are as a result of failures with the resurfacing material that was put down last autumn.

“This does happen from time to time and our team of inspectors have been out to assess the road to inform the contractors of the nature of the road surface failure.

“The material was guaranteed for two years so once investigations are completed the road surface will be repaired at no cost to the council, when the weather allows. “Any urgent road repairs will also be dealt with in the meantime.”