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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Tim Hanlon

Britain's 'worst ever pothole' is big enough to swallow a child - is it in your area?

A massive pothole that's believed to be the largest in the UK is big enough for a child to fall down and disappear.

Many people up and down the country have complained about the bumps and holes in their roads, but residents in an area of London have had to cope with a five-foot pothole.

Locals worried for people’s safety have tried putting cones around it, in hopes of avoiding any accidents.

The hole appeared after resurfacing work on Rogers Road in Canning Town two years ago, and many drivers complained it had damaged their cars.

But then only last week the ground reportedly gave way for a much larger five foot chamber, which was significantly more dangerous.

Paul Morris said it was one of the worst potholes he has seen (The Sun / News Licensing)

Jeanette Nind, 69, told The Sun: “There’s next to no street lighting here. What’s a cone going to do when someone is walking in the dark? Someone could be seriously injured or worse. I don’t know how there hasn’t been a crash from cars avoiding it and hitting a pedestrian.”

One man, Dean Hope who stands 5ft 6in, got inside the hole to prove just how big it really was, with it reaching his shoulders.

He said: “I got in it as a joke but it isn’t funny to motorists. I wouldn’t have wanted to drive over that in my car. It would have ripped half my suspension off. We are all paying taxes for these things to be fixed — but they just aren’t being fixed.”

The hole was cordoned off last Friday and has now been filled in.

Contractor Paul Morris, 42, of Kenson Highways, said: “It’s certainly one of the worst potholes I’ve ever come across.”

The hole was finally fenced off on Friday (The Sun / News Licensing)

Meanwhile, Newham council said that the repair of the road would be completed this month but said it was a “sinkhole” rather than a “pothole”.

A Newham Council told The Mirror: “This is not a pothole. A 5ft deep sinkhole appeared overnight due to subsidence. Subsidence on roads can occur anywhere in the country, although it is more common in areas of East London.

"The main reason for subsidence is the washed-out soil under the road surface. We have taken action to respond to the sinkhole as soon as it was reported. This has been made safe and will shortly be resurfaced. This will be completed by the end of April.”

Meanwhile, a woman, aged 90, saw her car need repairing after hitting a pothole last week and ordered food from a local kebab shop to be taken to her vehicle while she waited to be rescued.

Kath Cains, 90, and her daughter Jill Hireson, 61, were driving to a local restaurant in near Bitton for lunch when their front tyres were blown out by a pothole.

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