A POTHOLE that caused dozens of punctures is still a cause of concern for Taunton motorists who are now asking for compensation.

The hole appeared on the A38 near Rumwell on Christmas Day and continued to result in punctures until late last week.

It was initially fixed following complaints to Somerset County Council on December 29 but road users said the pothole re-appeared over the New Year period.

On December 29, Wayne Sprangle was driving into Taunton near the Orchard Grove development on the A38, at the new Rumwell roundabout, when a pothole blew a tyre of his car.

Mr Sprangle said that the stretch of A38 was “a mess”.

Somerset County Gazette:
The pothole photographed by a motorist on December 29

He also added: “I have seen at least 10 cars with blown tyres and when I went to the garage they said they had received 15 calls about popped tyres.

“It’s quite a narrow street and when there’s someone in front of you and everyone swerves, you follow suit, so I just hit it.

“If you do this work you have to be on top of it. It’s madness. You can’t expect people, road users, to pay for this. I want someone to pay for it.”

Somerset County Gazette:
A tyre damaged by the pothole

Somerset County Gazette:
A punctured tyre

Another motorist, Hugh Duder, said he was driving back to Taunton from Brixham when he got a puncture at 9pm on Christmas Day.

He was out there again in the morning of Wednesday, December 29, and saw three cars parked up with punctures and 2 RAC vans, he also added.

In an update, the project team for Orchard Grove said work restarted on-site on Tuesday, January 4, including on the new junction and the resurfacing that section of road.

A statement from Somerset County Council read: “A Somerset County Council spokesperson said: “We received reports of pothole defects within a private developer-led construction site during the Christmas break and our team contacted the contractor involved as soon as possible to ensure any defects were rectified as a matter of urgency.

“We understand the damage was initially repaired temporarily on Wednesday 29 December - however further problems were reported over the New Year period, and our on-call team attended to carry out emergency repairs until the contractor could attend and has been continuing to monitor. We are liaising with the developer to make sure the defect is rectified permanently as soon as possible.

“We would advise any road users who are concerned about the damage sustained to their vehicle to contact the developer.”

The County Gazette has also contacted the developers for further comments.