A farmer has complained about a ’crater-sized’ pothole after his wife lost control of her car.

John Caley, of Andreas, measured the hole before reporting the problem to the Department of Infrastructure.

He said it was 44 inches long and four inches deep.

The 60-year-old told the Examiner & Independent: ’I’ve had to rescue my wife, Uta, after her tyre was punctured from a crater in the road.

’She sounded quite distraught [on the phone] and said that the car swerved due to the huge crater at the bottom of the Bride Road junction with Lambhill Road.’

He added that the pothole ’ripped the tyre’ while his wife, who works at Noble’s Hospital, was travelling in her Mercedes Benz towards Douglas on the West Kimmeragh Road near the Bride boundary.

’The roads are in such a state around here that they have been a huge cost for vehicles going across them. They are not fit for a tractor,’ Mr Caley said.

’The "crater" could have caused a major accident if conditions like fog and rain were there.

’It’s ludicrous that we have to pay high tax for these roads. Instead of having roadworthy cars, the roads should be made worthy for us to drive on.’

Mr Caley complained to Ayre and Michael MHKs Alf Cannan and Tim Baker, as well as Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer.

A spokesman from the DoI said: ’The DoI’s inquiries team received a call on the morning of Tuesday, December 17 regarding a pothole on the Bride Road, at the junction with Lambhill Road, which was repaired the same day. There had been no previous reports of the same pothole.’

The last report from a member of the public about a pothole on West Kimmeragh Road was in June 2018.

’Wardens have repaired potholes on the road since that date but on a find-and-fix basis, rather than reacting to reports,’ he added. ’If you wish to report a problem on the island’s roads, email [email protected], call 850000 or post the details online at reportaproblem.im’