Pothole damage forced Caithness couple to go from 'three cars to zero cars'
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A Caithness couple went from having "three cars to zero cars" as a result of damage caused by potholes near their home.
Eric and Miriam Sutherland, who live near Achvarasdal on the back road between Thurso and Reay, had to rely on bus services and lifts from friends for essential journeys after the crumbling carriageway took its toll on their vehicles.
Two of their cars – Mr Sutherland's Skoda Yeti 4x4 and Mrs Sutherland's Seat Ibiza – are now fixed, but there was no way back for Mr Sutherland's 20-year-old Peugeot 406 estate.
Since July 2022 the couple have spent £1320 on repair bills. But their main concern is the risk to fellow road users.
"I don't want people to feel sorry for me," Mr Sutherland said. "The main thing is we want the road fixed.
"It's only a matter of time – there could be a fatality if the road isn't sorted, it is that bad. We're concerned about that."
Mr Sutherland (62), a retired NHS dental surgeon who had the Ormlie Hill dental surgery in Thurso, admitted: "It's unusual to go from three cars to zero cars."
The couple believe the road has suffered in particular because of heavy traffic associated with timber extraction and wind farm construction.
"It has really deteriorated," Mr Sutherland said. "The road has sort of split down the middle with the weight of the lorries going over it. It is just getting steadily worse.
"And if a pothole is full of water you can't gauge what depth it is. Some of the potholes are over a foot in depth."
He had a scare while driving in Sutherland a few weeks ago when the suspension arm broke on his much-loved Peugeot 406 – a consequence, he says, of being "repeatedly damaged" on the road near his home.
"I got a bit of a fright because there was an almighty bang and then a scraping noise," Mr Sutherland said. "I was trying to control the car – there was quite a steep drop into a valley.
"I had a lucky escape and used one of my lives. I have a lot of experience but I think a less experienced person could have ended up in dire straits."
Repair work on the Peugeot would have cost more than the vehicle was worth, so Mr Sutherland had to say farewell to it. "She was an old girl but I was quite attached to her," he said.
Mr Sutherland, who is also a retired justice of the peace, has since bought a seven-year-old "runabout" that can take a trailer.
If not for the kindness of friends, Mrs Sutherland (61) would have found it difficult to get to work when they had no functioning vehicles. Mr Sutherland made good use of his bus pass.
He said: "We got lifts from friends, and Dunnett's is running a very good service three or four times a day into Thurso. I was using that to come in to pick up vehicles and do shopping.
"We live right in the country and you depend on your car a lot."
The couple now choose to travel the long way round on the A836 to Thurso as it is in a better condition.
"They're doing some repairs but really they're just shovelling wet tar in and sometimes packing it in with their feet," Mr Sutherland said. "The council workers are trying their best, but their hands are tied because the money is just not there."
Highland Council announced last week that Caithness is one of the two areas that will benefit most from its new strategic roads investment formula. Altogether, 36 roads will be repaired across the county at a cost of almost £1.8 million, with a similar sum allocated to Skye.
"It'll barely scratch the surface," Mr Sutherland said.
He added: "We've been on the road a lot but we've noticed that when we get south of here the roads are just so much better. We're paying the same road tax and council tax as everybody else but we seem to be treated as second-rate citizens up here."
The couple are worried that the back road is still being promoted as part of the National Cycle Network and that it sees North Coast 500 traffic.
"It’s bad enough on four wheels, but on two wheels it would be very easy to be killed on this road," Mr Sutherland said. "People are getting their tyres exploding as well as the suspension – but if you were on a motorbike you wouldn't stand a chance."
Iain Gregory, co-founder of campaign group Caithness Roads Recovery, said: "Once again, the terminal neglect of Caithness is reflected in the huge expense, inconvenience and distress caused to this couple.
"Many of our country roads are now virtually undrivable, and the sheer scale of the collapse is catastrophic. Every day, people throughout this forgotten county are suffering as a result of the marginalisation and exclusion of the far north by a distant and urban-centric administration that has ignored this 'remote' area for far too long."
