Council leaves 13ft pothole in road because 'it is too big to be fixed'

Residents of a village in Northumberland have been told that a huge 13ft pothole that opened up on the C175 has not been fixed because it is not technically a pothole - but a collapsed carriageway.

Northumberland County Council claims the crater, nicknamed Lake Windermere after Britain's largest lake, is more complicated to repair than the average pothole.

The Daily Mail reports that hundreds of pounds worth of damage has been caused to motorists' vehicles and many say it is a safety hazard.

Councillor Steven Bridgett told the Northumberland Gazette: "The latest example of Lake Windermere, as we are now calling it, was reported in October 2013 and absolutely nothing has been done to resolve it.

"And because the council has left it so long, there is now simply no way a Jetpatcher can fix the problem.

"I would also throw the gauntlet down and ask if anyone can find a more substantial pothole."

Andy Rutherford, head of highways and neighbourhood services at the council, told the newspaper: "The section of road referred to is not a pothole but is an area of carriageway where the structure has collapsed at the edge. It cannot be simply filled but requires a more detailed and complex repair and a structural patch.

"The work will be carried out as part of our scheduled road maintenance programme currently under way in Rothbury. We apologise that it has not been carried out before now."

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