A Clitheroe man has shared his concerns about the potholes and broken pavements across the town – hoping the council will bring back ‘the Jewel in the Ribble Valley’.

Tim Rhodes, 69, who has lived in Clitheroe for 20 years, has shared his shame about the ‘disgraceful potholes’ and broken pavements being filled in with tarmac in his town centre and he now wants the council to do something about it.

He said: “At least the disgraceful state of Clitheroe’s pothole ridden roads is equally matched by the disgraceful state of the town centre pavements, and whilst I’m overusing the word disgraceful, how in any way could our council think it is acceptable to replace the lovely but broken paving slabs around the town with a shovel full of hideous black tarmac.

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“What is the council spending our not inconsiderable council tax on, it certainly isn’t on making the town attractive to visitors and residents alike.

“I want to be proud of living in Clitheroe, but actually I’m ashamed, come on Clitheroe Council take off your rose-tinted spectacles make our town centre something we can be proud of again.

“The only nice floral display is the “BP roundabout” Thanks to Holden Clough Garden Centre.

Tim said he wants to be proud of his town.

He said: “I’m furious about the state of ‘my town’.

“I want to be proud because Clitheroe used to have such an envious reputation as The Jewel in the Ribble Valley, but I think complacency has clouded the view of its residents.”

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A spokesman for Lancashire County Council, said: "We do our best to keep public areas neat and tidy, but our top priority has to be people's safety.

"If we find a broken flagstone which could be a trip hazard, we often have to replace it with tarmac temporarily to make it safe until work can be scheduled to replace the flagstone.

"Areas of flagstones are also often removed by utility companies in order to access their equipment in an emergency, after which they temporarily replace the surface with tarmac until the flagstones are replaced."