Villagers in Britain's longest running pothole row dating back to 1960 have been told to pay nearly £100k if they want them repaired.

Furious locals in Furneux Pelham, Herts, have been locked in a bitter dispute with the council for decades about fixing a lane that links the main road through the village to a cul-de-sac.

Hertfordshire County Council said that Whitebarns Lane has always been a public footpath and not a road - meaning it cannot be repaired at public expense.

But with 32 potholes now littered the road, the latest quote from the council in 2016 was £73,000 to sort the issue - with inflation meaning this would now cost homeowners nearly £100k.

Campaigners say fighting to get the road surface repaired has been a source of anger for decades - with local newspaper reports on the issue dating back to 1960 and 1980. 

Resident Sarah Wright, 59, said they have refused to pay out of their own pockets to make the 125m lane 'adoptable'.

An adopted road is a private road that has been taken over by a local authority and would in future be maintained at public expense.

The most recent figure could be much higher but Mrs Wright, who has lived there for 26 years, said 'something has to be done'.

She said: "It is terrible because the council are refusing to resurface it. 

"They fill it with road chippings on a regular basis and they come out of the potholes if it rains, making the surface even more dangerous.

"People have been injured. We've known people to fall over and cut their face, smash their glasses. 

"An elderly grandmother fell and hit her face on the ground while she was walking with her grandchildren.

"She broke her glasses and it was really distressing.

The road has 32 potholes on it (image via SWNS)

"The elderly people are petrified to use the lane if they fall and hurt themselves. We've had ambulances refuse to come down the road.

"Children topple over walking up the lane to go to school. 

"The council haven't resurfaced the road or made any provision for residents to have fit for purpose access from the cul-de-sac to the main road."

Mrs Wright said East Herts District Council built and owned the social housing until 2002 until it was sold on to a housing association. 

The houses down Whitebarns Lane are now a mix of social and privately owned houses with residential traffic using the lane as their only access point. 

A report in the local newspaper the Herts Mercury in 1980 referred to an already 20 year battle. 

It read: "A 20-year campaign to get the authorities to do something about the pot-holed state of Whitebarns Lane, Furnex Pelham, is at last bearing fruit.

"[Herts County Council and East Herts Council] filled up all the pot-holes and stabilised the surface ready for the county council to surface the road with chippings and tarmac."

A further letter from 1967 which Mrs Wright got through an FOI also stated: "Any further proposals for residential developments off Whitebarns Lane would not be acceptable from the highway aspect until such time as the section of this private road [...] is made up to Herts County Council standards."

Despite this, Mrs Wright said that more homes were then build without sorting out the road. 

'Children topple over walking up the lane to go to school' (image via SWNS)

She added: "Should social housing residents expect to have fit for purpose access to the main highway by the council or government? The alternative is the unthinkable. 

"A local authority should be looking after people in social housing.

"We're going to see more injuries, more damage to people's vehicles and a huge expense to the council. 

"We want to see policies than ensure it is going to be maintained going forward and that we're not in this position every 20 years. 

"We find ourselves battling every few years."

Douglas Debnam, 79, suffers from macular degeneration meaning he is considered 'severely impaired' but gets the bus three times a week from the top of the lane.

Mr Debnam said: "The council are the ones who built the estate and they're the ones who have passed it onto the housing association and then us.

"They're copping a fair old quid in council tax and then ask us to pay for it.

"The council should pay. They can't say it is a public footpath when I have to move out of the way for cars and tractors."

Mr Debnam uses a white cane to get around in public and sees most things at a distance as object outlines, only being able to see fully up close.

He added: "I have to watch where I am walking with the potholes so I don't trip into them.

"You've got to walk through all of these potholes and they're getting to a point where they are uncountable because one is going into another.

"We're getting quiet annoyed over it as people who should be doing something about it are not."

Diana Perigoe, 72, has lived down Whitebarns Lane for seven years and stopped driving because it was a 'nightmare'.

Ms Perigoe had two burst tyres from leaving her home down the lane and driving onto the main road - the only access point out of the cul-de-sac.

She said: "I had enough and decided to give up driving. I had to keep repairing my car as the potholes were ruining it.

"It was costing me a lot to repair my car and as a lone female, you don't always get the best deal.

"It's worse this time of year with the rain and the snow. All of us down this road want something that is safe to walk and drive on."

A Hertfordshire County Council spokesperson said: "It would potentially be possible to adopt Whitebarns Lane as a public road, but only if the landowner, or the residents living along the lane, were able to bring it up to an acceptable standard.

"We have offered to contribute towards the cost of the necessary works.

"In the meantime, we will continue to maintain Whitebarns Lane as a public footpath."