Council vows to repair road with ‘8 inch deep pothole’ that left motorist stranded

A council has vowed to repair a road home to an eight inch deep pothole that left one new driver stranded.

The gaping hole in Burnetts Lane was finally mended by workers on Tuesday night.

But this was too little too late for 18-year-old Suzanne Onslow, who inadvertently plunged her Corsa into the crater last week.

She was left stranded on the road for over three hours.

Since then, Hampshire County Council confirmed the pothole was repaired by workers from Tuesday into Wednesday.

A temporary road closure was in place while the work was carried out.

According to the council, there has been a ‘significant increase’ in demand for pothole repairs due to the impact of winter weather in recent years.

A spokesperson said: “In July last year, the council confirmed an additional £22.5 million to specifically target reactive road repairs with £15 million available over this financial year to April 2025.

“This, together with additional funding from the Government for 2023/24 and 2024/25 for road improvement schemes, is helping us to address more potholes more quickly and make our roads more resilient.”

READ MORE: Man feels 'cheated' after 'heartless' council refuses to pay out for pothole damage

The news of the Burnetts Lane repair comes as the council announced that nearly 600 miles of roads in Hampshire will be improved this summer.

‘Road surface strengthening’ will get underway at 400 locations across the county.

Councillor Nick Adams-King, executive lead member for universal services, said: “We know that potholes and other road defects are a cause of frustration to residents and motorists which is why we invest in a range of ways to make Hampshire’s roads stronger.

“Surface dressing treatments help to slow the natural deterioration of roads and reduce the occurrence of potholes and other road defects, as well as giving the road more grip to boost safety.

“It’s a cost-efficient way to target roads that carry the most traffic so are most at risk of wear and tear, helping taxpayers’ money to go further at a time when our budget is extremely stretched.”

He added: “These treatments are applied during the summer months because the process needs warm, dry weather to be successful.

“Summer is also the optimal time to fix potholes and we are continuing to focus more resources on repairing road defects following another challenging winter.”