'Corby crater' pothole takes out three cars in one go

An angry motorist has videoed three cars parked up by the side of the road that were felled by a mega pothole on the A43 north of Corby.

When her car hit the pothole on the unlit road, she parked up to find two more drivers stopped near the huge hole that had opened up just north of where improvements works have been taking place near Priors Hall.

They too had flat tyres caused by the pothole.

On a video posted on Twitter, she can be seen walking from one car to another, examining the damage.

Speaking on social media, the road user said: "Three cars hit the same pothole in the space of five minutes, all have burst tyres, and damage to their wheels. Multiple people on the roadside in the night on the unlit A43 coming into Corby, it’s been reported multiple times."

Frustratingly, potholes had been reported six times since the end of January on that stretch of road. One road user posting to Northants County Council's Fix My Street website said: "These potholes are very difficult to avoid as they are aligned with where most road users would tend to drive, to avoid them you have to slalom around them, this makes it very dangerous for oncoming vehicles."

Then, last week, another motorist said: "One that you cannot avoid is now particularly deep and likely to cause damage. A real shock to hit it at night. This section of road is unlit."

Cllr Jason Smithers, Northamptonshire County Council cabinet member for highways and place said: “When this pothole on the A43 was initially reported to us it was deemed as a non-urgent repair.

“However with the recent cold conditions, the road surface has suddenly deteriorated.

“Once this was drawn to our attention repair work was carried out as a matter of urgency.”