The recent bad weather has been blamed for the number of potholes but many of the holes I have seen have been there for years.

The real cause is bad workmanship by contractors.

The contractor should be made responsible for reinstating the road surface to the standard they found it in.

It’s no good digging up a hard road surface and replacing the hole with softer material.

Another solution would be for the council to refill and surface any hole dug, at the expense of the company that dug it up.

It’s the council that gets the blame and has to repair the road at taxpayers’ expense when often it’s sub-contractors resurfacing with cheaper materials that cause the problem.

Every hole that has been dug should be reported to the council and the contractors who fill it in should have to register the work they have done.

This would leave a trail to the people responsible and they should be fully accountable for their work.

If everyone who has the job of digging a road surface had to be licensed, they could be made to apply for a permit before starting.

Then, when the work has been done, it should be inspected by the council to make sure it is of a suitable standard, with any failing having to be done by the council at the contractors’ expense.

If a builder builds something and faults become evident, they are accountable, so anyone digging any road surface should be responsible for the work they do.

They cost the motorist, bus companies, hauliers, taxpayers etc, so it should be their responsibility to do it properly in the first place.

Ian Davies, Openshaw Drive, Blackburn.