After driving just 20 minutes along the roads in my area of Coventry I feel as though I've just spent that 20 minutes off-roading, except I wasn't in a 4X4!

Maybe it’s me, but I can't help feeling that there's something not quite right about Coventry spending £64m on a scheme to replace the street lights around the city, while the roads in Coventry resemble the moon’s surface and unfortunately I don't own a moon buggy!

Supposedly, the new lights will be cost effective and use white light, which apparently improves visibility, and be controlled by a computerised dimmer switch system that can be turned up and down when needed  – I can imagine someone in a control centre somewhere having a bit of fun with this when boredom drives them to distraction!

I heard the debate about this on BBC Radio 2 with Jeremy Vine the other day and got pretty irate as the arguments persisted and the numbers didn’t add up – especially as these lights may need replacing again in 25 years time.

What I want to know is, will this new lighting illuminate more of the potholes plaguing Coventry, which appeared since the roads collapsed after the January thaw. And now we’ve had another snowfall,  no  doubt we’ll be in for more potholes as the snow and ice thaws once again.

Not surprisingly, complaints to the council about the potholes have increased by 600 percent in just one year - and they haven’t even received my letter of complaint yet!

However, apparently the chiefs have spent another £1million trying to resolve the pothole problem, but that money obviously didn’t buy any tarmac for my road even though more than 5,000 potholes have been patched up in ‘operation fill up’ across the city. Apparently there are three methods for filling the holes – none of which have been tested on my road yet either!

£1million for the roads seems so little next to the £64million the council is ready to spend on dimming lights. Maybe they could move a little cash around and put the dimming lights on hold until the roads are fixed?

Good news though, people are encouraged to report potholes and priority is given to craters more than 40mm deep – so get dialling like I will!

To report a pothole, ring Coventry Direct on 0500 834 333 or just CLICK HERE!