A disgruntled car owner says his front tyre “exploded” after his Audi A3 went through a seven-inch-deep pothole near Bacton.
Darrel Goddard said when he took the car to his local repair shop to have the tyre replaced, he was told several cars had been damaged by the same pothole.
However Mr Goddard, from Thwaite, said in his opinion the “most frustrating” aspect of the situation was that he could not get any money for the damage from Suffolk County Council, because the hole had only been due for repair for a short period.
“The pothole was not signed even though it was deep and obviously had caused lots of problems,” said Mr Goddard, who contacted this newspaper this week.
“I contacted Suffolk County Highways and put through a claim to pay for my tyre but was told that because this pothole had been reported, was under a five-day repair and because I hit it within these five days they would not pay for the repair.
“I think that it is scandalous that they have refused to pay for the repair just because they are not efficient enough to sign or repair the hole.
“It suggests that if the pothole had not been reported they would pay for my repair. It was only due to luck and my wife’s driving skill that this accident was not more serious.”
A Suffolk County Council Spokesperson said: “Suffolk Highways was made aware of the pothole on February 13 and ordered for a repair to take place within five working days, in accordance with our highway maintenance operational plan.
“The incident occurred on February 18, which falls within the reasonable repair period for this type of defect. In this instance it has been deemed unreasonable for repairs to have been made prior to the incident.”
Mr Goddard later measured the pothole and said its area was five feet by three feet. It was on Rectory Road, between Bacton and Haughley Green.
“We were going about 50mph and the speed limit was 60mph,” he said. “It was only through luck and the fact that modern cars are better than older cars that we stayed on the road.”
Anyone who spots a pothole can report it to Suffolk County Council’s highways team at www.suffolk.gov.uk/roads-and-transport
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