ALTONÕS crumbling roads claimed yet another victim this week when local councillor Paddy Mendham took a tumble from his bike.

According to Mr Mendham, his front wheel disappeared down a large pothole in Kings Road and he was catapulted off, sustaining a nasty gash to his forehead and a black eye.

His is just one of a string of accidents caused in Alton recently by disintegrating roads and pavements, about which the town council has received numerous complaints.

Young mum-of-three Debbie Carpenter sustained a broken leg when tripping on an uneven drainhole cover while attempting to cross Chawton Park Road at night. Fortunately for Mrs Carpenter no cars went past as she lay in the road unable to move and calling for help. Her fear is that an elderly person might not have got off so lightly.

A local Guide leader who takes in ironing on a self-employed basis, Mrs Carpenter has broken her ankle in three places and will be in plaster for three months. She is currently claiming loss of earnings form Hampshire County Council - the authority responsible for the state of the roads.

Debbie Carpenter was among a vociferous crowd who attended Alton ElectorsÕ Meeting at Alton Town Hall last Thursday. They were there to hear a presentation by area surveyor Colin Taylor and county colleague,Bruce Soutar - the engineer responsible for highway maintenance in the Alton area.

According to Mr Taylor, over the past two years Hampshire County Council had changed the way in which the service is delivered. The Alton area, he said, was now covered from the Petersfield office which carries out inspections and maintenance work, including resurfacing and the filling in of potholes.

Inspections are undertaken once a year on unclassified and general housing estate roads, and around six times a year in town centres such as Alton. All maintenance work was assessed and money targeted at those with the highest ÔneedÕ rating.

However, Òa rating doesnÕt guarantee we will get the money to do the jobÓ, warned Mr Taylor.

With insufficient money or staff to carry out repairs on a planned rota basis, the highway authority could not be out and about looking for work but relied on the public to report problems. ÒWe need you to be our eyes and ears,Ó he said.

In addition to inspection and maintenance work, the Highways Authority deals with the repair and cleaning of traffic signs, the salting of main roads and bus routes, and the provision of some road markings.

It also provides a 24-hour, 365-day a year emergency service to deal with damage caused by storms, floods and road traffic accidents, and to effect temporary repairs.

Mr Taylor pointed out that HCC had spent £11m over the past year in repairing flood damage - money which had come from the planned maintenance budget leaving a backlog of routine work still to be completed.

While Alton had benefited recently from a £60,000 maintenance project in Normandy Street, it was not thought to have any work scheduled for next yearÕs rolling programme.

Nevertheless, with the pressure on, Mr Taylor said he would look again at the programme. In the meantime he would send a gang of contractors Òto go from one end of Alton to the otherÓ carrying out remedial work, with particular regard to speed humps and pavements in Church Street, the High Street and Market Street.

ÒThough for any long-term major works you will have to wait for the rating system to work,Ó he said.

Retiring mayor David Willoughby was concerned over the quality of previous repair work which, he said, had Òleft much to be desiredÓ.

Bruce Soutar pointed out that one of the problems was because of heavy vehicles parking on the pavements which displaced the stones. Normandy Street and the High Street seemed prone to this sort of treatment. It was, however, a catch 22 situation - while strengthened repair work would help it might also encourage more parking, he warned.

Councillor Pat Cole drew attention to the standard of pothole repairs which, she felt, was not substantial enough, while colleague Peter Whitmarsh suggested that it would be more cost effective to repair the holes when they were small, rather than allowing them to grow too large.

He was concerned at the lack of continuity in maintenance work which left a job half done, and in the poor communication between local people and highways officers. ÒWe want more communication - even if you are unable to do a job, we would rather know,Ó he said.

In confirming that Alton Town Council received more complaints about highway issues than anything else, leader Dave Crocker told the engineers that he had lived in Alton for the past 30 years and have never known the roads to be as bad.

Agreeing with colleagues that the current situation was just Ònot good enoughÓ, Mr Crocker pointed out that it was frustrating when local concerns appeared to be ignored and he hoped that this would the beginning of improved communication.

New to the job himself, Colin Taylor said he had taken all complaints on board and was keen to work in partnership with Alton Town Council to improve the situation.

Communication, he felt, was all important and he asked residents to inform the department of any further problems on 01730 266411.