An Arbroath mum has slammed Scottish Water after her car was forced off road following a collision with a jutting drain.
Angry Anne Gibson was driving along Forfar Road into Arbroath just after midnight when her car slammed into the drain protruding from the carriageway.
And in a further blow Ms Gibson was told by Scottish Water that if there is no record of anyone previously reporting the drain problem then they might not be liable to pay her compensation.
Ms Gibson and her three 14-year-old passengers were returning home after attending a concert in Aberdeen when the accident happened.
She said: “I was coming home from Aberdeen about 12.30am with my excited 14-year-olds after their second ever concert. Spirits were high until driving down the Arbroath to Brechin road beside Little Cairnie hospital.
“There was a thump and a bang and that was my tyre blowing up. There was smoke and I swerved across the road and we all got a fright.
“The manhole cover was up on its side and tar was all over the road like it had been broken.
“I took the manhole cover off the middle of the road as it was about nine inch square. It didn’t give my tyre just a small puncture it just blew it up completely.
“Bearing in mind this is a main road so there must have been signs of damage before.
“I now have no transport and a busted car which I’m not in a position to fix right now even though I need it for work. I am so angry as town roads are a mess.”
Anne, who is a primary school classroom assistant, is having to pay for the repairs herself before filing a claim form in the hope of getting some money back.
She revealed: “They said if they don’t have notice that there is a problem on the road then they will not pay up.
“However, if they’ve had a complaint put in and they have not done anything about it then they’re liable.
“Considering the size of the hole I don’t know how that could just appear and nobody has noticed it before. For a drain that deep to be facing on its side, it doesn’t just happen.”
A Scottish Water spokesman said: “We were made aware of the manhole cover on Forfar Road, Arbroath, yesterday morning and responded within two hours to cone off the area. We placed an order to replace the manhole cover as soon as possible.”