Carer’s fury over pothole blowout
A fuming mobile carer is claiming compensation from the council after being forced off the road when a massive pothole burst her car tyre.
The 45-year-old, who wished to remain anonymous, told the EK news she had just attended an emergency call-out to an elderly woman when her car hit a massive pothole on Rockhampton Avenue in Westwood.
With her tyre completely blown out she was forced to abandon the vehicle in the street overnight and walk home in the dark.
And with no means of transport to tend to patients under her care, she was unable to work leaving dozens of vulnerable elderly patients, including dementia sufferers, in the lurch.
The disgruntled carer is now claiming for compensation and loss of earnings from South Lanarkshire Council after measuring and taking pictures of the pothole as evidence. She told us the giant crater, measuring four foot long and five inches deep, has since been filled but is already crumbling.
She explained: “I do up to 60 hours a week for a private care company driving around the whole of East Kilbride so I’m seeing the state of the roads on a daily basis. There are potholes all over East Kilbride, it’s shocking.
“Along the whole of Rockhampton is ridiculous. That particular pothole was four foot long and five inches deep. I couldn’t believe it when I hit it, I felt so angry.
“It burst my tyre and I was quoted £100 for the repair which I couldn’t afford to pay till I got paid. I felt devastated when that happened to my car. I’ve also lost out on £200 earnings.
It’s an absolute disgrace that I’ve got to fork out hundreds of pounds when times are already really hard.
“My boss phoned me in distress because I see a lot of clients every day and when you don’t turn up to someone who has dementia, it throws their whole day off, it’s terrible.”
The carer claimed she was told “good luck getting compensation” when she made a complaint to the council, which made her “feel sick”.
She added: “There are pothole complaints all over Facebook.
“There are six deep potholes on the road leading to Troon Avenue in Greenhills, a guy in St Leonards said he was quoted £300 to fix his tyre, there’s a huge pothole at the end of Telford Road in The Murray, outside The Monty... it’s just full of them.
“I’ve been a carer for 16 years and this is the worst I’ve ever seen the roads in the whole of East Kilbride. I will be asking the council for full compensation for my tyre and my loss of earnings.
“The state of the roads around the town is a major issue. The council need to do more to fix them properly.”
Drivers took to community Facebook page East Kilbride People to complain about the roads.
One woman said: “Was at the Westwood shops yesterday, it was like driving on the moon. Reported it months ago.”
Another posted: “There’s a really big one beside Morrisons Lindsayfield if you’re turning left onto Stroud Road, had to swerve round it this morning.”
And another driver wrote: “The surface of the roads are worse than the surface of the moon and the poor dimmed road lighting makes seeing them almost impossible.”
A spokesman for South Lanarkshire Council said: “We are very sorry to hear of this person’s unfortunate incident and for any loss or inconvenience suffered whilst driving under the very difficult road conditions experienced during the recent bad weather.
“All roads in South Lanarkshire are the subject of rigorous safety inspection procedures, the purpose of which is to identify potential safety issues and take action to remove the danger, preferably before they cause an issue.
“In recognizing the size of our road network and understanding that our inspectors can’t be everywhere at the same time, we encourage members of the public to report defects to us, as happened in this instance.
“Despite operating in a very challenging financial environment at present, road maintenance remains a priority of the council. We recognise its importance in keeping our communities moving and supporting business.”