Council’s apology after pothole reporting error

A disgruntled motorist has won a battle with the county council over a dangerous pot hole in Covenham, after the council initially claimed there was ‘insufficient information’ for them to investigate.
An unsuspecting motorist would be unaware of the deep hidden pothole.An unsuspecting motorist would be unaware of the deep hidden pothole.
An unsuspecting motorist would be unaware of the deep hidden pothole.

Chris Belton, from Yarburgh, told the Leader: “The pothole on the double bend in Covenham has been causing damage for months.

“I recently had a brand new tyre destroyed and a friend’s visitor’s car suffered structural damage.

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“The road is now partly covered in water and has been for many weeks. The pothole is invisible to motorists. It’s a busy road and on a bend.

The four-inch bristles on this brush disappear under the water, due to the depth of the pothole.The four-inch bristles on this brush disappear under the water, due to the depth of the pothole.
The four-inch bristles on this brush disappear under the water, due to the depth of the pothole.

“As you can see, the brush is almost submerged,and its bristles are four inches long.”

“Nevertheless, I described the location in detail and sent these pictures to Lincolnshire County Council’s pothole reporting site.

“Their reply was: ‘Unfortunately we have been unable to take action with this fault as there was insufficient information.

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“Please report again with more information about the fault and location”.

The four-inch bristles on this brush disappear under the water, due to the depth of the pothole.The four-inch bristles on this brush disappear under the water, due to the depth of the pothole.
The four-inch bristles on this brush disappear under the water, due to the depth of the pothole.

Chris added: “What am I supposed to do? It’s a cop-out!”

Following enquiries by the Leader, the council apologised to Chris and insisted they will repair the pothole soon.

County councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: “I’m sorry that [Chris] received a message from the ‘Fix My Street’ service that we needed more information for his report.

“I can confirm that we have received [Chris’] report, and we’re going to repair this pothole as soon as we can.

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“Submitting photos with reports can help us repair defects even quicker, so I’d like to thank [Chris] for taking the time to take and send pictures of this pothole.

“We’re looking into why [Chris] received a request for further information in this instance, rather than a progress update.”

Chris is making a claim against the council for the cost of the damaged tyre.