POTHOLES have become so dangerous in Surrey one frustrated driver is petitioning Parliament for action.
After damaging his car twice in less than six months on holes in Surrey's roads, Mark Eshelby is calling on the House of Commons to intervene.
He believes there is insufficient funding for local councils to tackle the growing pothole plague and wants to see more money provided by central Government, or have the problem passed on to the Highways Agency.
"I just got fed up to be honest," said Mr Eshelby, 36.
"I was at home one evening, I had probably had a couple of glasses of wine, and I set it up there and then.
"I sent it to some friends and asked them to help, they said 'good luck' – I need 100,000 signatures to get it looked at."
He added: "I don't think we should have to dodge round potholes and drive in the middle of the road."
As a property developer, Mr Eshelby spends a lot of time driving around the county's roads and has seen the full extent of the problem. About five months ago, on Leith Hill in Dorking, Mr Eshelby damaged a wheel and alloy when he hit a pothole – but was denied compensation because the hole had been filled in within the allotted time.
Then, two weeks ago, he suffered a flat tyre hitting another pothole.
But he does not blame Surrey County Council for the problem.
"The problem isn't that the council are inept," he said.
"They're just not getting the funding they need. They are paying out so much on compensation but they should have funds from road tax revenues."
So far Mr Eshelby, who lives in South Street, Dorking, has almost 600 signatures on his petition.
But with the problem plaguing the county, he believes there is enough support across Surrey to force the Government to take notice.
He told the Mirror: "I don't think it is a difficult problem to fix, but it's not being done properly because there isn't the money.
"But if the job could be done properly there wouldn't be so much paid in compensation."
To sign the petition visit epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/47609