ANGRY residents are asking for "roads fit for Abergavenny people" as pot holes continue to form leaving surfaces in desperate need of repair.

Local people are demanding action from Monmouthshire County Council in several badly affected streets, including the busy Lion Street - which is particularly littered with pot holes.

Many of the potholes are thought to have been caused by the severe weather over Christmas and New Year, but one resident says the council can't lay all the blame on the weather.

One disgruntled resident, who lives in St Helen's Road, said, "Monmouthshire County Council cannot blame all the pot holes on the weather as the majority of them were there before."

He continued, "The roads in the town are disgusting,there are pot holes everywhere. Lion Street is terrible, outside the Black Lion pub there is a pot hole which has to be two feet deep and two feet wide.

"On the approach road into Nevill Hall there are also pot holes. A ambulance driver told me that if they have someone on board who has spinal injuries they have to go the long way round because if they went over the pot hole it could add to the injury.

"Also, St Helen's Road and Commercial Street are the same, if a child goes down there on a bike then it could be fatal.

"However, I notice MCC has enough funds to tarmac their own Llanfoist yard - how come they can find the money for that? Why did the yard get priority when the road are in the mess they are?"

"It's one botch job after another with the council, we deserve to have roads fit for the people of Abergavenny."

Grove Risbey, MCC's Operations Manager for Highways said, "Lion Street is programmed for resurfacing work in May 2010 and could not have been done before due to the improvements to the Brewery Yard area. St Helen's Road is programmed for work in our 2013/14 schedule, Union Road is not included at present in our four year programme.

"Whilst we appreciate the condition of these roads we must compare and prioritise them along with all of the other roads in the county.

"This has to be achieved on a very strict budget. It should be noted however that we undertake a review of the programme annually and depending upon the condition, priorities may change. Both St Helen's Road and Union Road will be included in this process.  We will continue to ensure that these roads are kept in a safe condition.

"The patching works to the Llanfoist depot were carried out as part of the requirement to maintain our depots.

"The work was required as a result of the existing surfacing breaking up and to comply with Health and Safety legislation. This work was funded from a different budget to the resurfacing works and has not taken money away from highway maintenance."

Car insurer AA Insurance said around 1,900 pothole claims were made by motorists during February, a rise around 600 per cent during the past three years, as councils struggle to maintain the road networks.