Burgess Hill man ‘horrified’ to see damage done to car after driving over a pothole in Hassocks

He told the Middy: “I heard a massive bang from under the car, which bought the car to a halt. I knew something bad had happened to my car and when I got out to inspect the noise, I was horrified to see that I had in fact hit a pothole and this had snapped the wheel on my car which was facing outwards.”

He said that his daughter, aged 16, was ‘very frightened’ and that he could not move the car.

Mr Butterfill said: “The police then arrived and called out a recovery truck as the car was blocking the road.”

However, while the car was being loaded on to the truck, it became clear that the damage was far more serious than he first thought.

He said that the driveshaft had been torn from the car in the incident, which happened a few days before Christmas, and it was at that point that the policeman measured the pothole and called for repairs to be made to it.

Mr Butterfill said: “We were then left without a car to use over Christmas and when I borrowed a car to use, the insurance cost me £75.

“Having made countless phone calls to the insurance company who sent an engineer to look at the car, it has been decided that the car is a write off. I have now have had to look for another car.

This has cost me a lot of time and effort and financially, this has cost me £350 for my excess and my new premiums will now increase.”

Mr Butterfill said he had made a claim to the council but has to wait 12 weeks for compensation.

He said: “Everyone needs to be aware of what to do in this situation. there needs to be much more awareness on what to do if you hit a pothole and what to do about it.

“It was very difficult to find the information on how to make a claim on the council’s website and there’s so much red tape and waiting, that’s no good to anybody. It needs to be much clearer. Having gone back there the other day, that hole is back open and it’s a horrific piece of road - why has it not been repaired yet?”

A spokesman for West Sussex County Council said: “We are concerned to hear about any accident. However, making a claim on potholes is clearly laid out on our website, with an online form to make a claim: https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/search-results/?s=claim%20pothole

“With regards to this specific location, we are liaising with our contractor and currently plan to undertake further temporary repairs on Friday, February 7.”

If you spot a pothole on our roads you can report it to West Sussex County Council on their website: www.westsussex.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/report-a-problem-with-a-road-or-pavement/

You can also report potholes using the Love West Sussex App, which can be downloaded for free.

The website gives full details of the information you need to record a complaint, and also has details about how the council classifies different-sized potholes.

Potholes on the A23, A27 and M23 should be reported to Highways England.

Is there a particular pothole you have to dodge on your commute? Has your car been damaged by crumbling roads? We want to hear from you.

Send details – and a picture if you can safely take one – to [email protected].