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Sue Cord hopes for compensation from Essex County Council

4:35pm Tuesday 9th March 2010


A WOMAN motorist is fighting for compensation from the county council after she hit a pothole so deep it broke the wheel of her van.

Sue Cord, 53, of Ongar Road, Abridge was driving her Renault Kangoo down nearby Epping Lane, when she hit the hole, which she claims is one of nearly 50 along that stretch.

She said: “I was taking my dog to the vets when I saw this massive hole. I thought I could avoid it by going on to the verge, but I mistimed it and fell right in.

“I thought the suspension had gone on the van. I looked and the wheel was completely flat. You couldn't drive it or take it anywhere. My husband had to come out to pick me up and take me back and we had to get someone to pick up the van. I had to cancel my appointment at the vets.”

Mrs Cord has since found out the jolt from the pothole broke the ball joint off her van, and is still waiting to see how much the repairs will be.

She has obtained a claims form from Essex County Council and intends to send them the bill.

She said: “It's the nuisance more than anything else. All along that stretch I counted 50 pot holes. It's just appalling. Everyone you speak to says there's potholes everywhere. I know we've had some weird and wonderful weather conditions, but you pay taxes and you expect a bit better than this.

“When you have roadworks you get warning signs. Maybe they could go round putting up warning signs for potholes. Then again they'd have to put them almost everywhere round here.”

A spokesman for the county council said: “Essex County Council will investigate the condition of this road and arrange for any necessary repairs to be carried out.”


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Your Say Your Guardian

larry g, chigwell says...
4:46pm Tue 9 Mar 10

shocking road, but simular all over essex , worst road ive been on is baron gardens barkingside

like the surface of the moon , truly shocking

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Heartlysmum, CHINGFORD says...
5:29pm Tue 9 Mar 10

Shock horror, slow down and drive round them.

Why should my rates go towards this stupidity? It's about time people stopped relying on the council to provide everything.

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fjl, Loughton says...
5:37pm Tue 9 Mar 10

Heartlysmum wrote:
Shock horror, slow down and drive round them. Why should my rates go towards this stupidity? It's about time people stopped relying on the council to provide everything.
As you live in the borough of Waltham Forest your "rates" will not be going towards this so don't worry. Whilst I don’t agree with a lot of what happens in this blame someone for everything society that we now seem to live in the pot hole situation does seem to be getting out of control. Some stretches of road are so bad that it is impossible to avoid them completely. When they reach the size that starts to cause damage to vehicles then I do think we are entitled to complain.

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Morris Hickey, Redbridge says...
6:14pm Tue 9 Mar 10

larry g wrote:
shocking road, but simular all over essex , worst road ive been on is baron gardens barkingside like the surface of the moon , truly shocking
Not Essex - but if you think Baron Gardens is bad then try Manford Way between The Lowe and the Hyneholt pub, or Fencepiece Road between Manor Road and Tudor Crescent, including the intersection at the Bald Hind traffic lights.

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loughtonkid, Loughton says...
6:53pm Tue 9 Mar 10

There are two factors contributing to pot holes:
1) A very long winter
2) The economic crisis
It can't really be expected for the council to fill up all these potholes if they dont have the money, and its only been a month or so since the potholes started appearing from the snow and ice....so be patient!

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Heartlysmum, CHINGFORD says...
8:03pm Tue 9 Mar 10

Hello?

Evidently I live in Waltham Forest.
Even if I do they have a council blighted by those who expect too much as All councils do.

Be careful out there.

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Morris Hickey, Redbridge says...
8:04pm Tue 9 Mar 10

It's not so much a matter of being patient, more one of staking an early claim. Essex County Council are well known for not spending a brass farthing this side of Chelmsford if they think they can avoid it.

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mr rusty, Harlow says...
11:26pm Tue 9 Mar 10

Rye Hill road is particularly bad too- it's navigable in the dry but when it's wet and dark you can't always spot the holes...........I pay road tax, I pay a lot of it, and I expect these holes to be fixed! If I drive around without road tax I can't tell the copper to be patient, there's an economic crisis and it's been a long winter!!If I do befall tyre or suspension damage I will be expecting compensation.

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Tracey Melons, Walthamstow says...
11:33pm Tue 9 Mar 10

Mrs Cord has since found out the jolt from the pothole broke the ball joint off her van, and is still waiting to see how much the repairs will be.

Maybe she can stick the vet bill on as well at this rate.

How can she mis-time a pot hole? no wonder women drivers get a bad name.

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AirForceOne, Woodford says...
7:25am Wed 10 Mar 10

Some truly idiotic comments here.
1) it is the councils responsibility to maintain roads, they collect a fair whack in CT to do this plus govt money. Not to mention parking fines revenue etc. And the technology is available to fill potholes at a rapid rate. If we actually saw them being attened to then people might be less forgiving that there are still some to do.
2) Potholes are not always easy to avoid. a) sometimes you can see them until you are right on top of them b) other cars or pedestrians may be around so that sudden avoidance manouvres are not pratical or safe.
3) I cant be bothered to write anymore

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ConcernedofLoughton, Epping Forest says...
9:46am Wed 10 Mar 10

AirForceOne wrote:
Some truly idiotic comments here. 1) it is the councils responsibility to maintain roads, they collect a fair whack in CT to do this plus govt money. Not to mention parking fines revenue etc. And the technology is available to fill potholes at a rapid rate. If we actually saw them being attened to then people might be less forgiving that there are still some to do. 2) Potholes are not always easy to avoid. a) sometimes you can see them until you are right on top of them b) other cars or pedestrians may be around so that sudden avoidance manouvres are not pratical or safe. 3) I cant be bothered to write anymore
Totally agree. You cant avoid every pothole no matter what you do or how good a driver you are, there are just too many. Its nice to see that the council have finally done something about the huge hole at the top of alderton hill even if it is a patch up job.

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Heartlysmum, CHINGFORD says...
11:23am Wed 10 Mar 10

She said: “I was taking my dog to the vets when I saw this massive hole. I thought I could avoid it by going on to the verge, but I mistimed it and fell right in.

Guilty as charged.

I cannot be bothered to write anymore.

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word of mouth, Epping says...
3:39pm Wed 10 Mar 10

everyone knows the roads are in a poor state so they should drive to expect it.
loughtonkid spoke some sense, the council can't fix everything at once and if the roads are as bad as the article says then im sure they would have to close the road for the repair, but im sure people would complain then as well.

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peeg, Walthamstow says...
11:33pm Wed 10 Mar 10

Maybe the coucil could also pay for some extra driving lessons for this unfortunate woman?

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Comments are closed on this article.

Sue Cord with her van. Sue Cord with her van.


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