Call for repairs after burst tyre

Helen Holmes may have received compensation for the damage but the 43-year-old from Cottam says she doesn’t want anyone else to suffer on the “terrible roads”.

The pothole was on Sandy Lane in Preston near Helen’s home and she says she had no choice but to go through it.

“The roads are a state especially with the bad weather we’ve been having,” she said. “On my side of the road there was a huge puddle which must have been covering the pothole because I couldn’t tell it was anything other than water. “Normally I would have avoided it but there was a lorry coming down the opposite side of the road so I had no choice but to drive into it. As soon as I did, I heard a bang which frightened the life out of me.”

Helen received £127 in compensation from Lancashire County Council, which looks after the road, to cover the cost of the repairs but says more needs to be done to fix the roads.

She said: “The state of the roads hasn’t improved despite giving me compensation and it seems only a matter of time before it happens to me again or someone else.”

Ridwan Musa, Lancashire County Council highways manager for Preston, said: “We have an ongoing process of inspection in place to ensure as far as we reasonably can that our roads are safe, and aim to repair any damage which could cause a risk within 20 working days.

“We have recently repaired some damage which was reported on Sandy Lane. “Our roads have been affected by the very wet weather over the winter, and particularly the flooding which occurred towards the end of last year.

“We’re currently working to make any repairs that are needed for safety, and will begin our annual programme of maintenance in the spring when the better weather allows, which will bring the roads into better condition by the autumn.”

County Hall’s highways chief Coun John Fillis last month insisted the authority was doing its best to get on top of the problem, but this winter’s floods had made matters much worse.

The cabinet member for highways and transport said: “The floods which hit Lancashire at the end of last year caused millions of pounds worth of damage to our highway infrastructure, including road surfaces, and our engineers are still very busy repairing the worst of the damage to ensure safety.

“We have received £5m from the government to repair flood-damaged infrastructure and if there’s a need for further funding for highway maintenance we will discuss this with the DfT in the coming months.

“In the spring, we will again begin a full programme of maintenance which will ensure our roads are in better condition by the autumn.”