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Pothole damages van - should DOI pay?
ANGRY: Kitchen fitter Darren Challis next to the pothole. PHOTO: John Maddrell JM120921 (44).
AN Onchan man whose van was damaged when he hit a deep pothole is calling for the Department of Infrastructure to pay for the repairs.
Darren Challis, who needs his van for his kitchen installation business, says his van suffered a burst tyre after hitting the pothole in Scollag Road, Onchan.
Mr Challis, aged 43, of Laurel Avenue, explained that he was driving along Scollag Road, from Onchan in the direction of Strang, on Tuesday when it happened.
‘I was driving along minding my own business,’ he said.
‘Then I heard a loud bang and hit something at the side of the road. It made the van swerve a bit.’
He said that he could immediately tell that one of the van’s rear tyres had gone down.
Mr Challis said: ‘There was no point trying to stop there because the road is so narrow. I limped up to the football club (Union Mills).’
When he got out of his vehicle to have a look what had happened, he found that the tyre had a ‘big hole’ in it and the wheel trim was damaged.
Mr Challis went back the following day to see what had caused the damage.
‘The pothole was massive,’ he said.
‘It was about two foot in length, 200mm wide and between 180-200mm deep.
‘You could probably get a wheelbarrow full of stuff in it.’
He said his next step was to see whether he would be able to recover the cost of the repairs from the DoI ‘or whether it was just tough’.
Mr Challis said he had spoken to the person living near the pothole, who told him that when it rained, it caused a large amount of water to stream down the road, making the pothole bigger.
Motorists are encouraged to report potholes and other road defects at the department’s website www.reportaproblem.im.
As well as including a description of the problem, people can upload their pictures, to help staff to respond.
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Sunday 19 May 2013
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