Residents of a village near York have threatened legal action if the council does not act to repair a “terrible” road.

People living in Buttacre Lane in Askham Richard have said the road surface is so bad that it is not safe in a car or on foot.

City of York Council is responsible for the highway and it is inspected annually, but residents said it had not been cleaned or repaired in “many, many years” and was subject to “continual neglect”.

Askham Richard Parish Council vice-chair John Henderson claimed some potholes were as large as 20 feet by 12 feet and six inches deep.

The lane eventually leads to agricultural land, but the first section, at the junction with School Lane, is used by residents to access their homes.

Rural West York councillor Anne Hook has been supporting residents in their campaign.

Resident Matt Drier said: “Some residents have actually left the village rather than suffer the stress and anguish of living there.

“The road is now so bad that it’s many years beyond a sticking plaster repair and the road needs to be reinstated to a permanent and safe condition.”

Daryl Thompson added: “Somebody may even be injured or killed at some point.”

Cllr Henderson said it was “unacceptable” to be told the highway “will never be made safe due to budgetary restraints”.

“These residents pay the taxes too,” he added.

Council officers had suggested executive member for transport Cllr Andy D’Agorne made no major changes, but a decision was deferred after Mr Thompson said he had made an application under section 56 of the Highways Act 1980, which gives an authority six months to repair a highway.

If the authority fails to do the necessary work in time, the applicant can apply to the magistrates’ court for an order to force it to do so.

Mr Thompson said: “We really shouldn’t be using public funds to move towards litigation on either side.

“We have full backing of the remainder of the parish and the residents to move together as a conglomerate.”

According to council estimates, repairing the full carriageway would cost more than £500,000, while repairing a 100m stretch from the School Lane junction would cost £100,000.

Cllr D’Agorne acknowledged residents’ “disappointment” with the report’s recommendations and said he had been advised to defer any decision to take legal advice.

He added: “That’s not because we want to kick the can down the road but I do think, having heard your representations, it would give the opportunity to make sure that all the advice we get is in accordance and there is the opportunity to tackle the most immediate problems.”

An additional inspection of the road is to be carried out before Cllr D’Agorne’s next decision session in December.