‘Massive’ pothole on M25 ‘takes out’ 20 cars in morning rush hour causing five-mile queues
2 October 2024, 16:33
By Will Conroy
A “massive” pothole that was “hidden by darkness” on the M25 caused five mile queues and lane closures as at least 20 cars were reportedly “taken out”. Loading audio…
Footage from one road-user showed a row of vehicles in the hard shoulder with their hazard lights on after being forced off the motorway in Surrey during rush hour traffic.
National Highways warned 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 before being reopened two hours later.
Parents with their young children and Uber drivers from Heathrow airport were left stranded between Staines and Chertsey as they stood beside their damaged cars.
Some drivers were quoted more than GBP200 to repair their vehicles with one deciding to walk an eight-mile round trip in order to buy a tyre and fix it himself.
One motorist wrote on social media: “Massive pothole that took out 20 plus cars this morning on the M25 between the A30 and the M3!
“Ridiculous pothole.
20 plus people on the hard shoulder changing tyres.”
The pothole was reported just before 6am with contractors starting repair works within an hour.
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.
The impact punctured one of the tyres on his Vauxhall van as he told MailOnline: “I immediately thought ‘that’s going to cost me’.”
Mr Conway ended up walking an eight-mile round trip to buy a tyre which he carried back to his van following the GBP200 charge he was quoted by one mobile repair company.
“I was walking up the hard shoulder and people were looking at me thinking ‘that poor bloke’,” he said.
“It started to rain (when I went to get the tyre) and as soon as I got back in the van it stopped.”
Other vehicles suffered cracked alloys with drivers helping each other to repair their cars by sharing jacks and spare tyres they didn’t need.
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.”
It is unknown if National Highways will be compensating the drivers, but motorists can make “red claims” if they are injured or have their cars damaged on the highways agency’s roads.
But National Highways warns on its website: “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.”
National Highways has since apologised and said any defects that “pose a risk to safety” are repaired within 24 hours.
A spokesperson for National Highways told MailOnline: “We are sorry to hear of this incident and the inconvenience and concern it will have caused.
“When potholes do occur we repair them as soon as possible, and we are presently in the process of a repair to be carried out as soon as possible.
“Our comprehensive maintenance and renewals programme, which we operate across all of our major roads and motorways, helps to minimise the risks of potholes occurring but it can’t eradicate them.
“Safety is National Highways top priority, and on dual carriageways like the M25 we carry out a rolling programme of safety inspections to maintain our roads in a safe condition while causing minimal disruption for road users.”