Gary Lawson was quite certain that the same hole in the road he, and at least three other vehicles, hit on December 30, 2022 in Gretna Green was still there when he travelled the same route just a couple of weeks ago.
Just under two years ago, Gary and his wife had come up to visit family in Scotland.
After shopping in Gretna, the couple set off for an overnight stay at Springkell. They were on Glasgow Road, just about to join the A74(M), when their journey was brought to a sudden halt.
Gary said: “It was dark and wet. There was a loud bang as the front passenger side wheel hit the pothole.
“My tyre warning light came on instantly and the tyre had deflated.
“Fortunately there was a lay-by about 50 yards further down the road. There were already two other cars in the lay-by who had the same issue.”
Describing the crater, he added: “The hole was deep and with sharp edges rather than being particularly wide. With it being dark, I guess the tendency was to take a more central driving line and that led to number of incidents that night.”
With a long onward journey planned on New Year’s Eve, Gary was grateful to find Express Tyres in Annan still open.
The wheel rim was straightened and the tyre replaced. And a successfully lodged compensation claim for £125 was made to Dumfries and Galloway Council.
However, after visiting the area again just recently, Gary could not believe his eyes.
He said: “I remarked to my wife that this was the same road we had the puncture on, and it would be good to see the location in the daylight.
“The pothole was still there! This time I managed to avoid it. I couldn’t believe it. I’m pretty sure it was (the same pothole). It was in the same location and the same shape.
“What would it cost to fix? I think the council could have wasted a lot of money (on compensation).
“It is a very dangerous location to have an unresolved pothole which has ‘previous’ for damaging people’s wheels.”
However, Dumfries and Galloway say any reported road defects in the area have been repaired.
A spokesman said: “Our council’s road services team repaired a number of defects in the area prior to March 2024, at which time the service moved to a new works management system.
“Outstanding reported defects were transferred from the old system for action during this transition – there were no outstanding defects reported at this site.
“Since transitioning to the new system, several defects were reported on September 10 and these were repaired on October 3.
“We have trained roads inspectors who assess the public road network and assess customer reported defects. All reported defects are categorised and prioritised for repair based on a number of criteria.”
