‘The council ignored dangerous pothole during nearby works’

The husband of a Singleton motorist, whose tyre was ‘burst’ by a pothole last month, has spoken of his frustration with the county council’s highways department’s response. Richard Haggis said his wife, Lara Owen, was travelling down Town Lane on Saturday, February 22, when her Mini hit a pothole, ‘blowing a tyre’ and damaging the wheel, costing them £122. He said: “I went to see if I could rescue the vehicle but the side of the road was too muddy to use a jack so we had the vehicle recovered. “On Monday I phoned the highways department at West Sussex County Council to report the pothole and find out how to claim the money back.” Mr Haggis said he was told this pothole was unlisted but another one, further up the hill, between Chalkpit Lane and The Triangle car park ‘had been reported already’. He added: “Two days later, and after receiving my claim, I see the pothole that caused our damage has been filled, yet the pothole at the top has not. This seems more of a reaction to my claim than caring about road users. “I can only imagine that should the claim be refused, as I expect it to be, part of the defence will be that the pothole had not been reported but was filled immediately they became aware of it.” West Sussex County Council said it was ‘concerned to hear of any accident’. A spokesman said: “Having reviewed our records for the last few months we have identified and repaired a number of potholes in the area of Town Lane referred to. “Our Safety Plus Policy sets out various intervention levels for potholes, with varying repair times, depending on the severity, with some repairs in question designated as requiring a five and 28-day repair time respectively.” As part of the Observer Pothole Watch campaign, this newspaper is urging its readers to make their voices heard and to inform us and the council about damaged and potholed roads. Share your pothole views, experiences, and pictures by emailing them to our newsdesk at news@chiobserver.co.uk.