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  "path": "/politics/potholes-transport-secretary-car-moon-crater-britain-crumbling-roads",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-16T03:06:53.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Labour to remove funding from local councils failing to tackle major road problems",
    "SUVs and larger vehicles 'exacerbate' pothole problem on UK roads, claim scientists",
    "Motorhome and campervan drivers to be banned from popular tourist hotspot to improve road safety",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nTransport Secretary Heidi Alexander was left stranded after her car was wrecked by what she described as a “moon crater” pothole in Oxfordshire.\n\nThe Cabinet minister’s green Mini Cooper was left undriveable after hitting the crater on the B4437 near Burford late at night, as she returned from a Labour fundraising event last month.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nImages showed the damaged vehicle being loaded onto an AA recovery truck following the incident.\n\nMs Alexander later joked the pothole was comparable to one spotted in space, telling The Sun: “I thought that the astronauts on Artemis II might have seen a similar-size crater when they were slingshotting around the Moon last week.”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\nBut she admitted the breakdown - which caused “added expense and inconvenience” - reflected a much wider issue across Britain’s roads.\n\n“I think that's the experience of far too many people in the country at the moment,” she said.\n\nThe incident underscores the growing crisis facing the UK’s road network, with the national repair backlog now estimated at £18.6billion.\n\nIndustry figures show just over half of local roads are in acceptable condition, with some only resurfaced once every 97 years.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMs Alexander said the episode reinforced why fixing Britain’s roads has been her top priority since taking office in November 2024.\n\nThe Government has earmarked £27billion for transport infrastructure across the country.\n\nCouncils now risk losing up to a third of their pothole funding if they fail to prove money is being spent on repairs.\n\nOf a £1.6billion pot, around £525million could be withheld from underperforming authorities.\n\n### BRITAIN'S ROADS IN CRISIS? - READ MORE:\n\n\n\n\n  * Labour to remove funding from local councils failing to tackle major road problems\n  * SUVs and larger vehicles 'exacerbate' pothole problem on UK roads, claim scientists\n  * Motorhome and campervan drivers to be banned from popular tourist hotspot to improve road safety\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMs Alexander warned “second-rate work” would not be tolerated, adding councils could face public backlash if improvements are not delivered.\n\n“I expect local councils… will start to feel the wrath of their own public if they’re not seeing progress,” she said.\n\nShe insisted motorists should begin to notice improvements before the next general election.\n\nEarlier this year, the AA said pothole-related call outs had surged by more than 18 per cent across the country.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMore than 6,200 pothole-related incidents were recorded in the East of England alone in January.\n\nMobile tyre fitter George Mircas told the BBC: \"The potholes are absolutely crazy - the roads have got so bad over the last year.\n\n\"Recently, on the M25 at Potters Bar there was a massive pothole in the middle of the motorway and eight cars had damaged tyres. It's very risky.\"\n\nMeanwhile, in Suffolk, 30 vehicles were damaged by a single pothole on the same night in February.\n\nJulie Williamson, who hit the pothole, said: \"It took me three hours to get the AA [to arrive] and to get home because they had so many calls.\n\n\"The road was full of AA vans and RAC vans.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Transport Secretary’s car damaged by ‘moon crater’ pothole in latest blow to Britain’s crumbling roads"
}