A motorist has recorded 40 potholes and road defects on just a few miles of road.
Richard Winter took photos of each pothole on his journey from Kippford to the shop in Colvend on Tuesday morning – a distance of less than three miles.
And he claims locals have become so fed-up of the pothole problem that some have even started fixing the defects themselves.
Mr Winter, a visitor to the area, said: “I didn’t go looking for them, I could see them as I was driving down to get the paper.
“Every photo is different. The majority are down in Kippford but there’s quite a few coming out of Kippford and down the road to Colvend, there’s 10 or a dozen down there.
“There were one or two I didn’t photograph as it wasn’t safe to stop.
“There’s two down in Kippford which have been repaired by local residents. One of them is quite amusing as it’s very pale, cream coloured cement on an otherwise tarmac road!”
Mr Winter says the majority of conversations he has with locals bring up the subject of potholes, with most drivers having hit them at some point. The majority of people also know someone who has suffered damage as a result.
Among the tales he has heard from motorists includes a family of four with young children having to park up to wait for help for the puncture to be fixed as well as concerns from the Triumph TR Register Car Club, which is currently touring the region and say it has the worst potholes they have seen in the country.
He added: “The most serious concern must be for cyclists for whom potholes are a serious and ever present danger, capable of causing serious injury or worse.
“From a safety perspective, could one honestly encourage cyclists, including families, to take a cycling holiday around the county with the roads in their present condition?
“More generally, visitors to Dumfries and Galloway like myself certainly notice the awful condition of the county’s roads, and this area welcomes and surely relies on visitors to support the local economy.”
Mr Winter has also spoken to a taxi driver who has been working on the region’s roads for 16 years.
The driver, who asked not to be named, said: “I have never seen it as bad as it is. Every housing estate you drive into has major problems.
“The A710 from Kirkbean to Southerness is disgraceful. People drive up the middle of the road to protect their car, but then you risk head on crashes.
“It’s a popular tourist route but it’s not giving a good impression of Dumfries and Galloway.
“I have seen plenty of cars sitting with the hazards on and have had to give folk into Dumfries as they’re stranded.
“Is it going to take someone being killed for them to fix them?”
Part of the route from Kippford to Colvend is also on the A710 – the state of which was recently criticised by Abbey councillor Kim Lowe and South Scotland MSP Emma Harper, who described the region as being in the midst of a
“pothole catastrophe”.
When asked about Mr Winter’s concerns, a council spokesman said: “The A710 is inspected on a monthly basis. All defects recorded have been added to the works management system for action. Currently all defects are actioned according to priority.
“An additional inspection will be undertaken to re-assess the section of road causing concern.”
