Yahoo News Council claims 'trench-like' pothole that likely killed cyclist, 84, 'closed and opened' on its own
A coroner has rubbished claims by a council that a pothole which likely caused the death of an 84-year-old cyclist "closed and opened" on its own.
Harry Colledge suffered a fatal head injury after he was thrown from his bike when its front wheel got lodged in a huge crack in the road on Island Lane, Winmarleigh, Lancashire, on 2 January.
The retired teacher, described as a "true gent", died after being taken to the Royal Preston Hospital. More than 300 people attended his funeral to pay their respects.
Last week, at an inquest into his death, coroner Kate Bisset recorded a narrative verdict but said Lancashire County Council had failed to previously identify or repair the pothole, and that, had it been fixed, it was "more likely than not that he would not have died".
The inquest was told that the crack was visible in March 2009 when the road was photographed for Google Street View.
Thirteen years later, in September 2022, Winmarleigh Parish Council arranged pictures of the pothole to be sent to Lancashire County Council.
But when its highway team went to the scene, they failed to spot the crack, the inquest heard.
One council worker said the focus had been on looking for defects that posed a danger to motorists.
Less than two weeks later, Lancashire County Council's highways safety inspector, Robert Treen, also visited the road and didn't notice the pothole, the inquest heard.
When asked during the inquest how he could have missed it, Treen said: "I didn't miss it, it must have been repaired."
He then suggested the crack must have "closed up on its own".
But independent highways investigator Adrian Runacres, who has more than 30 years of experience inspecting roads, said: "I can only say that that puzzles me.
"I am not aware of any mechanism that would likely have caused that crack to be there on 9 September, then to not be there on 15 September but then return on 2 January."
Runacres said it would have taken "a considerable period of time" for the defect to develop "to that magnitude" - analysis of the fault in the road after Mr Colledge's death found the pothole stretched 87m.
He said the crack should have been repaired within a maximum of 10 days in line with the council's policy.
Collision investigator PC Glenn Hilton, from Lancashire Constabulary, said: "In my opinion it was the front wheel of the bike going into the crack in the road which caused the cycle to suddenly come to an abrupt stop and throw the cyclist off the bike."
Watch: AA urges motorists to report every pothole
In his final submission, barrister Alex Williams, who represented Mr Colledge's family on behalf of Cycling UK, described the crack as a "trench". He said the suggestion put forward by Treen was so "vanishingly rare" it could be discounted entirely.
Returning a narrative verdict, Bisset said she found it "wholly mystifying" that she was required to determine if the crack had been present on 9 September, then not present the following week, but then had returned more than three months later by 2 January.
She said the pothole should have been repaired by 10 October 2022.
"The council's position defies all reasonable logic," she said.
"Mr Colledge's family are well within their rights to be outraged. The council's position, maintained to the bitter end, was met by audible laughter in this court."
'Angry beyond words'
Following the inquest, Mr Colledge's wife, Val, said: "To know that my husband Harry was killed by a deep crack on a country lane, which had been reported and should have been repaired, is not only devastating news it makes me angry beyond words.
"Every time I see a cyclist riding towards me my heart jumps and I'm right back by Harry's bedside in the hospital, looking at his lifeless body and wondering how on Earth something like this can have happened."
Mrs Colledge, who attended the inquest with her son Jonathan, said: "How can the government and health officials continue to promote cycling as a healthy option when the poor condition of our roads often puts cyclists at great risk of serious and sometimes fatal injuries?"
Lancashire County Council's chief executive Angie Ridgwell said: "We are aware of the coroner’s findings in the inquest into the death into Mr Colledge. Our thoughts and condolences are with Mr Colledge’s family, and we can assure them that we will be considering the findings of this inquest thoroughly and carefully."
Why are there so many potholes in the UK?
A pothole is a depression in a road surface caused by wear or sinking. They start out as tiny cracks in the surface but can grow if not fixed.
The friction of vehicles' tyres on a road heats up the surface and causes it to expand.
Over a period of time, this expansion leads to cracks in the surface.
In the UK, cold and wet weather, particularly during the winter months, means water can get into those cracks in the road and then freeze, eventually leading to potholes.
The heavy road use and traffic on the UK's roads is also a factor, as are tight council budgets.
According to figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, there were 556,658 potholes reported in England in the financial year 2021/22 across 81 councils.
This marked a rise of more than 36,000 potholes from 2017/18, when there were 519,968 reported.
Derbyshire Council Council had the most potholes with 90,596, with Lancashire County Council next with 67,439.
