A DRIVER narrowly avoided a terrible accident when a four-metre-wide pothole took the wheel off his car.
Michael Rudden’s Rover 45 screeched and sparked its way along the road from Murlingden to Little Brechin in Angus for more than 120 yards after his driver’s side wheel broke off and became lodged under the vehicle after hitting the hole.
Thankfully, the Brechin man’s quick reactions managed to bring the car to a steady stop, but the 34-year-old plumber said it could have been another matter altogether.
“If that had been a motorbike or an inexperienced driver it could have been very different,” Michael said.
“I was driving along the road and hit the pothole, then felt the front of the car shuddering. The wheel collapsed underneath the car and the drive shaft ripped out the gear box. The whole car was down at the front.
“I was only going about 50pmh when it happened but the car’s a write-off and I’ve had to buy another.
“The hole was about one metre by four metres wide and about six inches deep but there was no way I could have seen it as it was sitting full of water.”
Michael, who has been driving since the age of 20, had to take his car to the scrapyard after being quoted a figure of up to £1,200 for repairs.
He has bought a new car to allow him to get to his work in Pitlochry but he said the danger the pothole presents needed to be highlighted so that others are aware.
“I never panicked and just kept control and managed to bring it to a halt.
“It ran for over 120 yards before I got it to stop but if it was someone who was inexperienced it’s not nice to think about it. I’m just glad there was no one else in the car.
“I spoke to the council and they told me to put a claim in and send all the pictures of the damage and to explain what happened.”
A spokesman for Angus Council said: “The extensive flooding throughout Angus just before Christmas caused considerable damage to the roads network which we are rectifying as soon as possible on a priority basis, weather permitting.
“We can confirm that this incident was reported and that we responded as swiftly as possible. Remedial work has been done in this area.”
mdalziel@thecourier.co.uk