Swindon’s cyclists face an ongoing battle with third-world roads, according to the head of one of the town’s cycling clubs.

Howard King, the chairman of the Swindon Wheelers, said that the increasing number of potholes in the town was forcing cyclists to position themselves dangerously on the roads.

He said: “We come up against potholes all the time, as we are out on our bikes most weekends.

“The biggest problem we get is that at this time of year, with the potholes filling up with water, you can’t ride on the left-hand side of the road. We have to move across towards the centre, and drivers often don’t understand why we can’t ride to the side, which causes problems in itself.

“There don’t seem to be fewer potholes, there seem to be more. When the repairs are put in, they are horrendous – and they open again in a matter of weeks or months.

“We’re almost in a state where we have third world roads. Whenever we’re out riding for leisure, we are up against them: there’s hardly a road in Swindon that isn’t full of potholes.”

Howard also questioned the work of the council in repairing potholes in the town’s road.

He said: “It’s very rare to see anyone out repairing roads. They might be out digging up roads, putting features in, but they are not repairing potholes.

“It’s bottom of the pile when it comes to priorities, because they are looking to save money wherever they can.”

As reported in the Adver this week, reports from cyclists’s website FillThatHole.org listed 164 unrepaired potholes in Swindon, with only 17 per cent of reported cases having been repaired.

The situation was as bad in the surrounding area, with 1,322 potholes unfixed in Wiltshire, and 2,348 in Oxfordshire.

Commenters on our website has mixed views on the state of the town’s roads.

One said: “Apparently our economy as a town is steaming ahead in the country league, however our council tax and income tax is insufficient to fix a few holes quickly and efficiently.

“Maybe they’ll come up with another way to tax the hell out of us with the headline: ‘Pay more and we’ll fix more!’”

Another said: “When the council do go out and repair the holes, it would be nice if they did a proper job, rather than filling it with a bit of tarmac and flattening it down with the back of a shovel.

“One bloke doing this, while his three mates in their high-viz vests look on – this lasts about three weeks before it’s a hole again.”

Another commenter defended the state of roads in the town, comparing it favourably to other locations in the country.

They said: “Personally, I do a lot of travelling, and Swindon is far better than most places I go for potholes.

“Not just pot holes either: graffiti and litter is not as bad and is generally good.”

Earlier this week, a spokesman for Swindon Borough Council said that recent cold weather had caused potholes to open up in the town’s roads, but their teams were out daily to repair them.