THE Tour of Britain may be coming to Gloucestershire in September but many of the county’s roads are dangerous for cyclists due to their atrocious condition, according to councillors.

Residents say they are seriously worried about how bad roads, which are already in a poor state, will get over the coming autumn and winter.

And people living in Chedworth are calling on Gloucestershire County Council to fix the numerous roads in and around their village.

Lack of prompt repair will lead to an increasing number of problems in terms of car damage, pedestrian accidents, they say.

And county councillor Paul Hodgkinson (LD, Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach) says it’s ironic to have the Tour of Britain coming to the county when so many of the roads which are used by everyday cyclists are in a dreadful state.

The villagers say that complacency about this situation is not acceptable.

Colin Peirce who lives in Chedworth, persuaded the parish council to write to county council leader Mark Hawthorne and highways cabinet member Dom Morris asking that the roads are properly repaired.

Mr Peirce said: “In Chedworth we have some appalling road conditions which have been allowed to get worse.

“We’ve got cyclists and pedestrians injuring themselves and damage to cars."

Cllr Hodgkinson said: “With the Tour of Britain coming through the Cotswolds soon, it’s ironic that some other roads not being used by the bikes are in a dreadful state.

“Cyclists would be seriously at risk if they used them. Roads like the Whiteway between North Cerney and Chedworth are appalling and have been so for ages."

A GCC spokesperson said: "We are working extremely hard on repairing the counties roads and have more engineers out making urgent repairs on top of 36 teams already fixing the worst reported potholes.

“We also have an extra eight teams finding and fixing smaller potholes before they get worse. We’ve invested in new machinery for faster repairs which can fix up to 100 potholes a day.

“On top of that more than 170 roads are set to be resurfaced across the county this year."

The Tour of Britain is due to come to Gloucestershire on Saturday September 9. Road closures will be in place across Gloucestershire when stage seven races through the county beginning in Tewkesbury Abbey before head into the Cotswolds before heading south.