A Burton man was left gobsmacked when the ground 'opened up' and he fell into a 3ft hole in the middle of a road in the town.
Jason Hair, 46, was walking alng Lincoln Road with his girlfriend Jodie when he felt the ground below him collapse, trapping his leg under the Tarmac.
He said: “We were walking up the road minding our own business, and I fell into a hole. It was about 3ft deep, and half my leg fell down.”
“There was no hole there before; the road just collapsed as soon as I put my foot on it.”
Jason was left with just cuts and bruises and took a trip to Queen’s Hospital in Burton to be sure he hadn't done any further damage.
It comes after a similar incident last year when his friend Emma Fullick wasn’t so lucky. She fell down a hole on another road just yards away from where Jason got into trouble and broke her knee.
Emma was walking along Short Street towards her local corner shop when she slipped down into a pothole. She said: “It was a massive hole, and I hadn’t seen it. I was supposed to be going down to see my family for Christmas, but I was in hospital for my leg.”
Emma stayed in hospital for a few weeks, and was on crutches for months as her leg healed.
She said: “I’m not angry that it happened; I’m more concerned for others. I’d hate to think that a child or an older person might fall down.
“I’m not impressed work still hasn’t been done. The council need to open their eyes.”
She was upset when she heard that her friend, Jason, had had a similar experience on a road nearby.
Helen Fisher, a spokesman for Staffordshire County Council said of the Lincoln Road incident: “Highways crews attended the site as soon as they were made aware of the problem to make the area safe. Investigations into the cause of the defect have now been completed and the necessary work to repair the hole has been carried out.
“Our highways teams do carry out regular inspections of our footpaths and any problems identified are prioritised according to the risk they may cause to the public. We do try to carry out repairs as soon as we can. Anyone with concerns about damage to pavements should report them at Staffordshire.gov.uk or on 0300 111 8000.”
