A CALDICOT county councillor has spoken out about the poor quality of the roads in his area.

James Harris, councillor for the West End area of the town is concerned that Caldicot's roads are not safe and need urgent repair.

However, Cllr Harris does not think the problem will be sorted out in the near future because of the low level of funding Monmouthshire has received from the Welsh Assembly.

He said: "The quality of the roads in this area is terrible. I can't help but feel that our area is being marginalised.

"I know that it is going to be very difficult for the council to do anything about it because of the pitiful amount of money they have received from the Welsh Assembly.

"There are huge potholes in some of the roads and it just can't go on like this.

"Some of the roads have not been serviced for 43 years and the problem is that the whole road needs to be repaired and it is not just a case of re-layering the surface.

Bert Hinder, 77, from Tennyson Road in Caldicot also spoke out against the quality of the roads.

He said: "The people in charge do not seem to understand the situation. "It is a clear safety hazard and anybody who walks across the road in the night could step into one of these pot holes and break an ankle.

"I would like to tell the people in charge that this is a serious matter and it needs addressing."

The WLGA has recently prioritised highways maintenance as a key area for increased revenue expenditure. They asked for an additional £20m for 2006/07, which even then they admitted would not be sufficient to solve all the problems reported by local government officers.