Pothole damages up to 30 cars in one night

Up to 30 cars were damaged and motorists were left stranded by the side of the road on the same night after a pothole brought traffic to a standstill in Suffolk.

Julie Williamson was driving along the B1062 between Beccles and Bungay on Monday when she heard a "massive bang" and felt her tyre deflate.

She said: "It took me three hours to get the AA [to arrive] and to get home because they had so many calls. The road was full of AA vans and RAC vans."

A spokesperson for Suffolk County Council said: "We appreciate how frustrating potholes are for road users. The team is working hard during what is the busiest time of year, to inspect and repair any that meet our criteria."

Suffolk Highways said it filled 438 potholes from 2 to 6 February.

Williamson said the pothole, near Deer Row, was huge and full of water, and could not be seen on the road, which has a 50mph speed limit.

"It's very frightening when it's getting dark and it's rush hour traffic and you're sitting on the side of the road with lots of bends and lots of hills. It's very difficult for people to see," she said.

"I'm surprised there wasn't another accident."

Jessica Smith had been driving her children back from their swimming lesson in Bungay when she was stranded at the side of the road.

She said: "It was dark and wet and there was a real thud and the tyre pressure just went down. I was able to pull over safely and call the RAC. My boys were really scared.

"As I pulled into the layby, there were two other cars that came behind me straight away and there were other cars down the road as well."

She was still waiting on Tuesday morning for her car to be towed to a garage for repairs to get her tyre fixed.

When incidents happen, call-out fees can be costly and Connor Martin, who runs his own mobile tyre repair business, received three calls on Monday night.

He said he had previously been called out four times for the same road and had seen split tyres and other cars badly damaged.

The council spokesperson added: "We are aware of the pothole on the B1062, and carried out a preliminary 'make-safe' repair yesterday evening [Tuesday] at this location.

"A member of the inspection team is due to return to the site tomorrow morning [Wednesday] to urgently assess what repairs are necessary and get the work on order."

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