Motorists have complained after a ‘huge’ pothole damaged 30 cars in one night, leaving some drivers waiting hours for assistance.
The hole was several inches deep and filled with water, making it difficult to see as vehicles approached it after dark.
Those caught up in the chaos on Monday said it was lucky there hadn’t been a serious accident at the spot on the B1062 between Beccles and Bungay in Suffolk, where the speed limit is 50mph.
A mobile tyre replacement fitter called out to several jobs at the spot admitted the epidemic of potholes on roads as councils direct resources elsewhere was good business for him – but costly for drivers.
Jessica Smith was on her way back home from her children’s swimming lesson in Bungay when she fell victim to the pothole.
‘It was dark and wet and there was a real thud and the tyre pressure just went down,’ she said.
‘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.’
The top part of a traffic cone juts out of the ‘huge’ pothole that burst tyres on around 30 vehicles on the B1062 between Beccles and Bungay in Suffolk
Her car was still at the site the following morning as she had to wait for a local garage to come and tow it back for a new tyre.
Another motorist, Julie Williamson, heard a ‘massive bang’ before her tyre suddenly went flat.
‘It took me three hours to get the AA and to get home because they had so many calls. The road was full of AA vans and RAC vans,’ she told the BBC.
‘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. I’m surprised there wasn’t another accident.’
Connor Martin, 29, who runs Connors Mobile Tyres, said he had a total of four calls from stranded motorists.
They included a man in a Vauxhall Astra at 3pm on Monday, another man in a Vauxhall Corsa at 6.30pm and a couple in a Mercedes A-Class car yesterday morning.
‘I had a lot of jobs on but I had a chance to have a quick look and it [the pothole] was huge,’ he said.
Driver Julie Williamson said the road was ‘full of AA vans and RAC vans’ and warned it was fortunate there hadn’t been an accident on the 50mph road
Dozens of cars were left with deflated tyres after drivers hit the water-logged pothole
‘It was so deep you couldn’t see the bottom of the cone that was in it. It was a few inches deep.
‘It was filled with water and you can’t really see the potholes when they are filled up with water.
‘I know if there’s a big puddle of water to go around it. But a lot of people don’t know. The next thing they know, they’re on the side of the road.’
He added: ‘It’s good business for me but not for others. This is the busiest I’ve been in a while.’
Britain has been blighted by a ‘pothole crisis’ with cash-strapped local authorities diverting funds to other priorities.
Drivers and motoring organisations have complained that dangerous holes, which can injure or even kill motorists and cyclists, are cropping up quicker than they can be filled.
On average, 15 people every month are killed or left with life-changing injuries in a crash started by the poor state of the roads, recent figures show.
Projections indicate more than half – or 106,000 miles – of local roads will be in disrepair in 15 years’ time.
Another victim, Jessica Smith, pulled into a nearby layby after her tyre was damanged and said two other cars behind her joined straight away – adding to the vehicles already waiting by the road
Suffolk County Council said it had made the site ‘safe’ and would be carrying out a repair
Suffolk Highways filled 438 potholes between February 2 and 6, according to its website.
A Suffolk County Council spokesman said: ‘The pothole on the B1062 near Deer Row was reported to us on Monday evening. A member of the team has inspected the site already and made it safe. It will now be repaired urgently.
‘We appreciate how frustrated road users are about potholes. The team is working hard during what is the busiest time of year to inspect and repair potholes and other defects across the 4,000 miles of road we are responsible for.’