AFTER ‘three year of endless letters and phone calls’, residents of Milton Damerel have taken a stand against the state of the road leading from Gidcott cross to Bason cross.

Jean Reed and her grandchildren, Christopher and Rebekah, worked together to create a sign this Christmas to encourage the council to ‘repair this road’.

Jean, speaking on behalf of all the families and farms that live on the stretch of road, said that after three years of endless letters and phone calls she and her grandchildren had had enough and decided to create a sign to highlight the issue.

The sign created with the help of Christopher and Rebekah reads: ‘To Father Xmas (sic), Please can you repair this road. I can’t ride my bike and it’s wrecking my dad’s car! Thank you.’

Jean said: “The road from Gidcott cross to Bason cross in the parish of Milton Damerel is in a terrible condition and we have been complaining for several years.

“The tarmac has worn away and full of deep pits some up to four inches deep. Last summer the road was surveyed by the council and it was painted with yellow road markings, so the council must have thought it was in need of repair. But now six months later the paint has faded and we still have a car wrecking road and not safe for kids on bikes.”

She added: “I have been writing and phoning parish and district councillors, Devon county council and MP Geoffrey Cox, to highlight that this road should be repaired to a standard and maintained in a safe condition. We live in the country and rely on driving our vehicles, and should not be neglected!”

In response, a spokesman for Devon County Council said: “£11,000 of repairs were carried out to the road in early 2019, and surveys were carried out last summer to establish the extent of further work needed. Although the road won’t be completely resurfaced, a section of the road is scheduled to be reconstructed and other parts will be patched, but a date for this work is yet to be fixed. Highways officers are due on site next week to finalise the areas which will undergo repairs.”