Chichester pensioner calls for improvements to ‘extremely dangerous’ road

Mike Barker, 72, from Westergate, said he drove over a pothole on the offending stretch on Colworth Lane when taking his car to be serviced at the nearby Mercedes garage.

He said: “It is not the first time I have incurred damage to my wheels. White repair lines were painted on the road in the summer but nothing has been done about the unsafe state of the road.

“Both sides of the road have fallen away. The council say that it has to be fixed within ten days of it being reported but it hasn’t happened.

“The road is in a very bad state and extremely dangerous, even more so in the dark.

“I am 72 years of age and in all my life I have never known the roads to be in such an unsafe state. How can two cars go down a road when both sides have fallen away?

“I have had more than £1,000 worth of damage to my cars. The first I let drop but the roads in this country are getting worse.”

West Sussex County Council said it was ‘unable to comment on individual incidents’, but said each claim is ‘considered on its own merits’.

A spokesman said: “We are concerned to hear of any incident but are unable to comment on individual incidents.

“Claimants are currently being advised that we will investigate and respond within 12 weeks.

“West Sussex County Council is responsible for maintaining around 2,500 miles of road.

“All roads are inspected dependent on their hierarchy, and repairing defects, such as potholes, is done as a priority.

“Concerns about potholes can be reported online using our Love West Sussex app.”

Details about how to make a claim can be found here