ON the article about cyclist Alex Jamieson, who was thrown over the handlebars of her bike after hitting a giant pothole in Gunhouse Lane, Bowbridge.

Posted by Nick Wilf Selby: That is not a hole, it is a crater. It’s disgusting how bad the roads are around Stroud and that crater has been like it for ages. Get it sorted GCC.

Posted by Matt Arch: I am a utilitarian cyclist, and I can vouch for the unsafe condition of the roads.

It is, let us not forget, entirely right and indeed legal for cyclists to share the roads with motorists who should, I believe, according to the Highway Code, pass leaving as much room as they would for another motor vehicle, (although seldom is the case, in my experience.

Rule163 of the highway Code states clearly that - a driver should give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car.

I seldom find that motorists make adequate allowances for myself as a vulnerable road user. Consequently I have learned to adopt a style of riding which by many may be seen as perhaps over assertive, and at times maybe aggressive. It does not foster a more passive riding style nor attitude among us folk who also wish to get from A to B.

Posted by Trailgaze: It is an utterly shameful situation that has been allowed to occur by the highways department, that puts peoples live in real danger by their failure to keep our roads in a safe condition. I have just spent over £600 on my van to repair damage to the steering that has occurred over recent months of driving on our appalling roads in Gloucestershire.

It’s like driving in a third world country on some of our roads locally, having to constantly swerve to avoid the ever increasing pot holes.

And the highways department’s short term answer is - paint white circles around the holes. Is this supposed to appease their responsibility in some way? Shame on you all.