Father calls for action after A27 Chichester pothole accident

Ian Collyer, 56, was towing a two-tonne, 30ft boat on a purpose-built trailer attached to the back of his people carrier – a total length of about 40ft.

Ian and his family, who live in Bracklesham, were travelling on the A27 between Emsworth and Chichester, about half-a-mile from the Emsworth service station on the eastbound carriageway, when he hit a large pothole in the road.

It caused the tyre on his trailer to blow and the procession to swerve across the carriageway.

The incident happened in the midst of rush-hour traffic.

Mr Collyer said ‘something needed to be done urgently’.

“It put the fear of god in my wife and son, who are both disabled and were left completely shocked.

“I didn’t get an apology from the Highways Agency – there was just a complete lack of compassion, it’s totally unacceptable.

“The accident could have killed my family and other motorists. My son is still very reluctant to get in the car and I thought I may have had to call an ambulance for him as he suffers from epilepsy.

“We were stuck on the carriageway for two hours waiting to be rescued.”

The Highways England said a team inspected the carriageway every seven days.

A spokesman said: “We are aware of the issues with the road surface along this section of carriageway and there is just over £4.5m of allocated funds to fully repair this section of the A27 over the next three financial years.

“The designs for these works are ongoing. In the interim we will continue to inspect the carriageway every seven days, and any safety critical defects will be repaired immediately.

“Our most recent inspection did not highlight any safety critical defects.

“All of our maintenance works within the network are categorised by order of the severity and safety implication to the travelling public.

“This means category one defects are classed as emergencies and made safe within 24 hours. Permanent repairs are then carried out within 28 days. Category two defects are less severe and are undertaken in order of priority when funds become available. In the interim ‘bumpy’ road surface signs have been placed out along this section of the A27.”

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