Howard Brown claims a pothole, such as this one pictured, led to a speeding fine (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A Nottinghamshire chef has criticised the state of his home county’s roads – and even blamed them for a recent speeding ticket.

Howard Brown, from Wollaton, says he received the fine after being forced to concentrate on poor road surfaces instead of his speedometer.

Over the past two years, the 51-year-old has spent hundreds of pounds repairing his car due to damage sustained from uneven road surfaces.

Howard is now facing a fine and points on his licence after driving 46pmh in a 40 zone.

He claims he committed the offence due to a pothole.

Howard told the Nottingham Post: ‘Fair enough as I went through at 46 but it’s just all these factors, having to watch the roads more and everything.

‘I was worried I was being distracted as I was having to look at the road surfaces. Is it fair of the police sending out fines when a lot of the road surfaces are just blatantly illegal?’

The chef frequently needs to make trips to schools and hospitals around the county as part of his job and admits ‘My car is just not geared to take them.’

Howard has demanded Nottinghamshire Council take further action on potholes (Picture: Getty Images)

In 2022 he ‘hit a huge pothole on Nuthall Road’ in Nottingham, which buckled the wheel.

After reporting the incident to the council, the local authority paid for him to have it repaired.

This procedure would have normally cost around £700, but he was luckily able to find a second hand wheel on eBay for just £275.

Becoming increasingly frustrated with the deteriorating roads, Howard decided to get a dash cam fitted so he could log all the potholes he came across.

He added: ‘So now when I hit one I pull the dash cam footage on my computer and log it with the council on the day or evening it happened.’

Gary Wood, Head of Highways and Transport at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: ‘The combination of sub-zero temperatures we saw in December, the effects of salt used as we grit the network and an exceptional level of rainfall over recent weeks have all taken their toll on Nottinghamshire’s roads, but we are not alone as an authority in experiencing this.

‘Residents may see an increase in emergency repairs as we keep roads safe throughout the winter until larger scale repairs can be made, however we will still be undertaking permanent repairs wherever we can and are continuing with our large-scale patch repairs as part of our four-year programme.

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Howard Brown has been forced to shell out hundreds in repairs.