Police alerted after five cars damaged by 'massive' A283 pothole

Officers say they attended to ‘ensure the safety of all road users in the area’ when the cars came to a halt on the Washington Road after hitting the hole.

West Sussex County Council says repairs have now been carried out.

One driver – Don Johnston – says he first reported the dangerous hole to the county council on December 6 when it took out both nearside tyres of his car while he was driving on his way to the dentist.

It had cost him nearly £700 in repairs, along with a lot of stress, he said, and he was surprised to see it hadn’t been fixed by yesterday morning.

"It was still there – along with five cars all with punctures,” he said. “The police had been called and were in attendance, halting the traffic.”

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He said ‘any number of vehicles might have been damaged’ in the two weeks since he first reported the pothole, adding: “West Sussex County Council should be ashamed that they can't react quickly to a dangerous event like this. Any motorcyclist hitting it is dead. And it is costing a lot of money to a lot of people and considerable stress and anxiety.”

A spokesperson for West Sussex County Council said: “We cannot comment on specific incidents but we are sorry to hear of any vehicles being damaged at any time.

“We are pleased to report this Washington Road pothole was repaired yesterday (Monday December 19).

"Originally, one of our highway officers identified the need for a repair during a recent, routine inspection. A repair was scheduled, in accordance with the council’s highway maintenance policy, but the impact of the weather meant the pothole further deteriorated.

"We received additional reports from road users and expedited the repair.

“We appreciate potholes are a big source of frustration for all road users, and in the six months from April this year, approximately 22,000 were filled by our highways teams and contractor across West Sussex.”