A massive pothole on the M25 has taken at least 20 cars out of commission today, leaving a row of broken vehicles lining the hard shoulder during rush hour with their hazard lights on.
Parents with young children and taxi drivers picking people up from Heathrow airport were left stranded between Staines and Chertsey after they fell victim to the enormous hole which was ‘hidden by darkness’ in the middle of the road.
National Highways warned motorists just after 7am there were 40 minute delays and five miles of queues as two lanes were shut between junction 12 and 13 to repair the defect.
The lanes were reopened two hours later, but not before dozens of motorists were forced to shell out hundreds of pounds to repair their busted wheels.
Lorry driver Blaine Conway, 39, was making his way home after finishing a night shift when he heard a ‘massive bang’ as he accelerated around a bend of the motorway.
After inspecting the damage, he ended up being forced to walk an eight-mile round trip to buy a tyre, which he carried back to his van in the rain.
‘I was walking up the hard shoulder and people were looking at me thinking “that poor bloke”,’ he told the MailOnline.
‘It started to rain (when I went to get the tyre) and as soon as I got back in the van it stopped.’
Mr Conway added: ‘They [National Highways] have been doing resurfacing work on that particular part so I can only assume that the lane was opened too soon and Tarmac was still wet in parts and lifted with passing cars until the pothole caused damage.
‘There were parents with children stranded. Some had two tyres on their cars damaged but people were helping others change tyres who had spares.
‘It was nice to see people coming together to help each other in a stressful moment.’
Other drivers made the best of the situation by sharing their jacks and spare tyres they didn’t need as they attempted to repair their own cracked alloys.
Motorists who have had their cars damaged on National Highway roads are allowed to make ‘red claims’, but it is not known ifthey will reveive compoensation.
A warning on the National Highways website reads: ‘We aim to protect the public purse by only settling claims against the company where there is a clear liability.’
It adds: ‘However, there is no automatic right to compensation or damages.
‘The law makes it clear that highway authorities cannot be blamed for everything that happens on their roads. Although National Highways maintains the SRN (strategic road network), it cannot be held responsible for every problem which arises.’
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