Cyclist thought 'this is it' after pothole crash

A cyclist has spoken of the physical and psychological trauma of hitting a pothole at speed, recalling she had thought "this is my time".

Beckie Hamilton was thrown to the ground near oncoming traffic after hitting a pothole near her home in Newbury, Berkshire in October.

Meanwhile, Hannah Colls from Wickham in Hampshire, is among the growing number of drivers forced to spend thousands of pounds after potholes damaged two of her family's vehicles.

Figures released by the AA this week show the overall UK repair bill for affected cars in 2024 was £579m - the highest total on record.

Ms Hamilton had been cycling on a country lane in when she hit a large pothole "out of the blue" while travelling at 21mph (34km/h).

"I basically scraped all the way down my right hand side and I was heading towards the oncoming car," she told the BBC.

"I just thought 'this is it - this is my time'. I couldn't see any way out of it."

Fortunately, the vehicle coming in the other direction managed to swerve and avoid Ms Hamilton.

The incident left her with injuries to her ribs, elbow, knee and shoulder.

"But also psychologically, it took a little bit of time to not think about it, and not think what could have happened and how much worse it could have been," she said.

She warned the condition of the roads could "put people off" going out on their bikes.

West Berkshire Council said it was using AI technology to enhance road maintenance by conducting video surveys that quickly identify potholes and cracks.

"When immediate permanent repairs aren't feasible due to hazards like adverse weather or flooding, temporary measures are taken to eliminate immediate dangers. Otherwise, the goal is to achieve a 'right first time' repair," it said.

Motorists have faced mounting financial costs - with punctures, wheel damage and broken suspensions among the most common issues caused by potholes.

Hannah Colls, from Wickham, said Hampshire's roads were "beyond a joke", after family members struck potholes while driving twice in 18 months.

Ms Colls newly-qualified son hit a pothole on a family day out, costing him "the best part of £500 to recover".

In a similar incident while driving near Soberton, Ms Colls' car was written off after being severely damaged after hitting a hole.

"I'd rebuilt the engine the year before, I'd put a lot of money into it as it needed it.

"It was worthless after the pothole," she said.

Ms Colls said she now actively avoided routes with potholes.

The government has promised extra funding for councils in the south of England as part of a £500m boost to tackle potholes.

"It's not going to happen overnight, but I am absolutely confident that when local authorities get this funding, our constituents are going to see a difference," roads minister Lilian Greenwood told the BBC.

"They're going to see better roads, have smoother journeys and have less damage to their cars."

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