Margate pothole peril warning after scooter accident

A TEENAGER has blamed a pothole in Canterbury Road, Margate, for an accident in which she came off her scooter   on Monday (February 1).

Chatham House student Jade Hansford, from Birchington, was on her way to get her moped indicator repaired when she hit the hole.

Jade, 17, said: “I was just turning into the street when I hit a hole in the road and came off.

“I fell off my bike and into the road and my moped skidded behind me.

“I wasn’t hurt but was quite shaken up, and my bike is all scratched which will cost a lot to repair.”

Shopkeeper Alex Cadenhead, who runs nearby Alex Motorcycles, saw the accident.

He said: “She was lucky she didn’t fall in front of oncoming traffic or it could have been serious.

“Lots of people have complained about the holes. They came to fix them in the New Year but just filled them with loose cement.

“The first thing that went over it swept it all into the street, and now the gravel that covers the road is even more dangerous, especially for motorcyclists.

“The road has not been properly repaired since the trucks came to work on the  Sea Bathing development, and it’s an important route.”

Margate councillor Iris Johnston, who lives nearby, said it is not just poorly repaired potholes that are annoying people in Westbrook; the clanking of ill-fitting manhole covers is keeping residents awake at night.

She added: “It can’t blamed on the recent bad weather – these roads have been dreadful for years.”

While potholes can damage the wheels and suspension of cars, for those on mopeds they can be a much greater threat.

Ian Lewis, founding member of the Thanet Scooterists club, said: “I’ve heard from a number of my members how many holes there are in the roads at the moment.

“With two wheels and smaller wheels, they can cause real problems for those on scooters.

“You don’t see them until you’ve gone over them sometimes, and some of them are really big.”

A spokesman for Kent County Council’s Highways Department said he could not comment on particular cases, but encouraged anyone who sees a pothole to report it to them by calling 08458 247800 or going online to www.kent.gov.uk/highways.

He said the council had repaired more than 1,000 potholes since the cold snap earlier this year.

Extreme cold causes more potholes because the frozen water expands cracks in the road surface.