A former champion boxer from Kilburn claims she is being kept up all night by potholes on her street that cause “minor earthquakes” when they are driven over.
Cathy Brown, 45, says the noisy vibrations caused by vehicles thundering over the holes outside her home in Kilburn Park Road have taken their toll on her health in the past two years.
Saying they could force her out of her home unless Brent Council takes action, she said: “I really am getting to the end of my tether with these potholes.
“Every night my bed is vibrating and the radiators and windows are rattling like crazy whenever a bus or a large vehicle goes by, almost like a minor earthquake.
“I’ve tried taking sleeping pills, I wear ear plugs and every morning I wake up absolutely shattered. My home is my haven and I don’t want to leave after being here for nearly nine years.”
Ms Brown, a professional boxing coach who held the English and European women’s boxing titles during a career spanning 1998-2007, also fears the vibrations are causing damage to her property and risks devaluing it.
The former champion, who now works as a personal trainer, said she called Brent Council officers and local councillors to her property in November last year but claims she was told the road surface was ‘not bad enough’ to warrant immediate work.
Taking pot shots at the deteriorating state of road surfaces across the borough, where one in every six streets are affected, Ms Brown said it has become a “total mess”.
“It’s so annoying when I think I pay council tax for this,” she said.
“I’m going to cry if this gets fixed because I’ll be so happy.”
Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Brent Council’s member for the environment, said: “We’ve been in touch with Ms Brown for several months and have carried out several inspections, each time concluding that the road is not in need of urgent repair.
“Furthermore, officers who inspected the street said that given that the property is so close to the road which is used by buses and large vehicles, the re-laying of the road would not necessarily result in a decrease in the vibrations Ms Brown experiences.
“We fully appreciate that it is a frustrating situation for Ms Brown, as it is frustrating for the council too, in that government cuts to local authorities have meant that only the most serious defects to roads in our borough can receive urgent attention.”
The council has pledged to boost investment on road and pavement repairs by 50 per cent to £6 million on 2015-2016.
Related link: ‘Epidemic’ potholes plague one in SIX roads in Brent
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