Calls to repair 'utterly disgusting' road in Southampton

Residents are calling for an "utterly disgusting" road to be repaired as decades of neglect has left it in a "dangerous" state.

The nameless lane at the back of Portswood Road in Southampton has not been repaired for years as its several owners failed to find an agreement.

Charity Mencap, which owns offices at the site, has called on Southampton City Council to step in.

The authority has pledged to intervene.

The road has no drainage, no lighting and is currently unadopted - which means it is not owned by the city council.

Several residents and businesses along Portswood Road own small parts of the road and are therefore expected to pay for any work.

Mencap Southampton - a charity which provides services to people with learning disabilities - said it paid for minor repairs in previous years but it cannot afford the cost of major works.

Its chief executive Alex Iles called on the city council to help as she said that the state of the road was putting service users off.

She added: "We really feel the lane has got to an extreme state. We want people to feel safe when they are coming down this lane, without risk of injury."

She explained that litter and needles were often dumped along the road, which frequently gets flooded.

Lisa Stead, a career who takes her son Harrison to Mencap regularly, said the road was "too dangerous".

Kelly Harrison, assistant manager at the nearby Naomi House shop, said she feared the state of the road could be "off-putting" for people who deliver donations to the shop.

"The stench from the puddle is just disgusting," she added.

Southampton City Council confirmed a policy to deal with unadopted roads would be ready in the summer.

Deputy council leader Jeremy Moulton said this would allow the authority to repair roads in"extreme cases" involving "legally complicated ownership" and health and safety issues.

Repairing the "utterly disgusting" space at the back of Portswood Road would be "top of the list", he said.

"This is very extreme, it's a very disgusting situation, very inhuman for the people having to live with it on a daily basis," Mr Moulton added.

He said the work was expected to cost "a few hundred thousand pounds".

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].