Roads a ‘disgrace’ Woman hurt after hitting pothole on her bike
AWOMAN has branded the roads in and around the town a “disgrace” after she hit a pothole on her bicycle and was seriously injured.
Fleur Clark from Cheltenham spent nearly a week in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital with broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a broken collar bone.
She was hurt after striking the pothole on the main road on Leckhampton Hill while out cycling with her family. The impact, which happened on the afternoon of August 26 near Devil’s Chimney, sent her flying through the air onto the road.
She said: “The state of our roads are a disgrace and this could have been anyone as I wasn’t at fault, just minding my own business with my husband and child.” She hopes that publicising the incident might lead to the pothole being fixed so that the same thing does not happen to someone else.
It has left its mark on her physically and emotionally.
She said: “I hit the pothole and it flipped me off the bike where I travelled 23 paces. I hit the road and knocked myself unconscious.
“Both my husband and daughter witnessed the incident as they were behind me, cycling.”
An ambulance took her to the hospital with suspected spinal injuries. She was put into a spinal brace, which she said was “very scary”.
Scans at the hospital confirmed she did not have any spinal injuries but she did have broken ribs, a broken collar bone and a collapsed lung.
She was treated for pain and breathing difficulties before being discharged on August 31.
Fleur, who is a self-employed business consultant, added: “I now have six to eight weeks for the bones and breathing to heal plus rehab and physio to get back to fighting fit.”
According to its website, Gloucestershire County Council considers potholes that are more than 75mm deep to pose “an immediate danger to public safety” and encourages people to report them via its emergency number of 08000 514 514.
Fleur fears that the pothole she hit might not meet the council’s criteria for sparking emergency attention.
She said: “I’m not sure if this hole qualifies. Annoyingly, it may not be deep enough for them to care.
“But it didn’t stop me breaking bones or losing earnings...and it could have killed me. It’s crazy to think that if it’s under two inches, no-one cares.”
David Pritchett, the county council’s local highways manager, said: “We’re very sorry to hear about this distressing accident and hope that Fleur is making a good recovery.
“We ask that she gets in touch with us to confirm the exact location so that we can make sure that the road can be inspected as soon as possible.
“Residents can report any highways issues, including potholes, to us online at gloucestershire.gov.uk/report-it.”