Cycling OAP killed by pothole the council refused to fill in
A PENSIONER died after flying off his bicycle and landing head-first when he hit a pothole that the council had refused to fill in, an inquest heard.
Roger Hamer, 83, went over the handlebars after riding into a ‘dinner plate-sized’ crater, witnesses said.
Locals had complained about the state of the road but the council said the pothole was not deep enough for it to take action.
Tragedy struck when Mr Hamer, described as an ‘adrenaline junkie’ despite his age, cycled along Bury New Road in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester, on his way to buy food for a family meal.
Susan Simpson, a nurse, said she saw the pensioner, from nearby Walmersley, come ‘flying over the handlebars’ and land on his head.
She rushed to help but he was unresponsive. She said: ‘There was nothing else [he could have hit] apart from the pothole.’ Mr Hamer, who had not been wearing a helmet, suffered skull fractures in the incident on March 5 last year.
He was taken to Salford Royal Hospital where he died of a severe brain injury a month later. Assist- ant Coroner Peter Sigee told a jury at North Manchester coroners’ court yesterday that they must consider how well Bury Council had repaired and maintained the road. He said: ‘The main issues are likely to be the circumstances of Mr Hamer’s fall from the bike, the condition of that part of the road at the time and whether the condition of the road was causative of his fall.’ Resident Helen Wesolowski said the pothole was the size of a dinner plate and 3in deep, adding that she had reported it two weeks earlier. She said: ‘The majority of residents have either emailed or rung the council about the road.’
A council worker had told her it would be repaired, the inquest heard. Mrs Wesolowski said a council worker arrived after the crash and ‘half-filled the pothole’.
Mr Hamer’s daughter, Ruth Topping, told the hearing: ‘He was an active man and very, very caring.
‘Everyone knew dad and he was very popular. He was very active and an adrenaline junkie.’
She added: ‘Bury New Road is notorious. In Ramsbottom we don’t talk about the weather, we talk about potholes.’
Representing Bury Council, solicitor Mark Bradley said the pothole was about 1in deep.
Highways inspector Graham O’Connor said that only potholes at least 1.5in deep were considered ‘actionable’ by the council.
The inquest continues.