The Chronicle has been inundated with complaints about the state of Whitton Dene, in Hounslow, which is covered with large potholes, since the beginning of the year.

One resident described the state of the carriageway, between Whitton Road and Mogden Lane, as 'unacceptable', while another compared it to conditions in the third world.

Hounslow Council confirmed this week that work on the road would finally begin early next month as part of a wider programme of 'carriageway patching'. But residents, who were initially told no money was available for the work, remain angry it has taken so long to secure funding for such urgently needed repairs.

Eric Williams, who lives in nearby Wills Crescent, told the Chronicle he had already come off his motorbike once after hitting loose stones and feared for his safety whenever using the road.

"I have lived in the area for five years and it was in a bad state then but has got steadily worse to the point where it is now absolutely treacherous," he said.

"A stretch of one-and-a-half miles is spent not looking where I am going or for other road users but just a few feet in front, weaving about and making it very dangerous for all. Come on Hounslow Council, this isn't the third world. Sort it out before the lawyers start to get hold off you."

The road sparked 13 complaints in just two months on the website FixMyStreet, where residents can report concerns about problems in their neighbourhood.

A council spokeswoman said: "The council has a rolling programme of planned maintenance for the borough’s roads, which includes ongoing monitoring and the repairs of defects which exceed our intervention levels.

"Planned carriageway patching is due to begin in early April; work will begin at Whitton Dene before being rolled out across the borough."
Council guidelines state that potholes must be between 40mm deep, at the busiest junctions, and 75mm deep, in residential roads, for action to be deemed necessary.

The council recently won a £267 million PFI (private finance initiative) bid, to pay for work to streets and highways over the next 25 years, with work set to begin in early 2013.

The Chronicle reported earlier this year how the council was facing an estimated £100,000 bill for potholes caused by the big freeze, during which water got into cracks in the road and expanded as it turned to ice.