Phone company BT has been fine more than £8,000 for bad road repairs after it had relaid cables.

The telecommunications firm was fined £8,500 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs and a £60 victim surcharge after pleading guilty to second rate repairs in Amersham Avenue, Edmonton, Drapers Road, and Crown Road, both in Enfield.

The charge, ordered at Tottenham Magistrates court, on July 17, is the largest ever handed out to a utility company in England and Wales for poor road repairs.

Enfield Council’s cabinet member for environment and community safety, Councillor Chris Bond, said: “This is a victory for motorists who have a reasonable expectations that the roads they are travelling on are well maintained and free of defects and holes.
 
“We want to work in partnership with the utility companies but they need to understand that they cannot just chuck rubble and sand into the holes they dig, Tarmac over the top and hope no one realises the road will sink a couple of months.

“We have a very robust inspection regime, we will notice defective work and we will prosecute utilities who think they can act with impunity – they can’t.
 
“Enfield Council spends in the region of eight million pounds a year fixing, repairing and resurfacing roads and pavements in this borough and it is incredibly frustrating when utility companies cut corners and carry out shoddy repairs because they simply can’t be bothered to do a good job.”

The company had breached section 71 of the new roads and street works act 1991.