Mum and baby stranded after pothole crash

And Sam Kemp says she believes it is only a matter of time before someone is killed because of the hole on Hastings Road, Telham.

The pothole, between the Black Horse pub and the Crowhurst Park turning, has been filled in five times in just three weeks.

In that time, scores of motorists have reported being caught out.

Sam was left with a repair bill for £125 following her encounter with the pothole on January 30.

Sam, from Bexhill, was travelling towards Battle with her baby when the accident happened at around 5.30pm.

She said: “It was dry when I was driving but because all the water had previously gone in the hole, you could not see it.

“The baby started screaming because it woke him up.

“I pulled in down the road and had to wait for recovery for two hours.

“It was not very nice, sitting there with an eight-month-old, hungry and in the dark.”

Sam’s sister Vikki had reported the pothole to the council on January 23 - the day after she damaged her car.

And Sam’s other sister Charlotte suffered a similar fate on the same pothole on February 6.

The 20-year-old, who had only been driving for a year, was unable to avoid the hole as she would have crashed into an oncoming car.

It has been reported that two cars were recently involved in a head-on collision after one driver swerved to avoid the Telham pothole.

Sam, who works as a Police Community Support Officer in the Battle area, said: “I said to Highways it will end up causing a massive pile up or kill someone but they do not seem to be interested.

“They just seem to be doing these stupid little repairs and then it all goes back to what it was again.

“I can understand they have not got the money but this is risking people’s lives.

“If a motorbike had gone down there, the rider would have come off.”

Roger Williams, head of highways at East Sussex County Council, said: “We are experiencing some of the worst weather since records began and no drainage system can cope with this level of water, which is causing damage to our roads. We have increased the number of teams repairing potholes around the county and are currently repairing an average of 300 potholes a day. We recognise that Hastings Road is particularly bad and have carried out repairs as soon as problems have been reported – visiting the site on January 23, 30 and 31 and February 6 and 7.”