Cyclist killed after hitting pothole 'would still be alive if council fixed it'

16 October 2023 , 06:55

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Harry Colledge suffered a catastrophic brain injury after he was thrown from his bike

A retired teacher thrown from his bicycle after hitting a decade-old crack in the road would still be alive had the local council repaired it, a coroner ruled.

Harry Colledge, 84, suffered a fatal brain injury after his front wheel lodged in the crack, described as a 6in-deep "trench" and he was thrown from his bike. He died later at Royal Preston Hospital.

His inquest last week heard the crack was visible in 2009 when the road was photographed for Google Street View. Four months before the accident the local parish council arranged for pictures of it to be sent to highways bosses.

The retired teacher died following the accident on January 2 (Family Photo)

But a team sent to inspect the lane days later failed to spot it. Later that month, Lancashire safety inspector Robert Treen also examined the lane and suggested the reason he did not see the pothole was that it had "closed up on its own".

An independent highways maintenance expert, though, told the hearing he was "not aware of any mechanism that would have caused that crack to be there on September 9, not be there on September 15 then return on January 2". Recording a narrative conclusion, coroner Kate Bisset found that had the hazard been repaired, Mr Colledge would not have died.

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She added that both inspections had been of an unacceptable standard, saying Mr Colledge's family were "well within their rights to be outraged". After the inquest widow Valerie Colledge told Daily Mail: "To know that my husband Harry was killed by a deep crack on a country lane, which had been reported and should have been repaired, is not only devastating news [but] it makes me angry beyond words."

Council bosses were warned about the crack, and sent this photo, four months before Harry died

The family are now considering legal action against the county council over the failure to fix what they have called "the Grand Canyon of Lancashire". Lancashire County Council chief Angie Ridgwell said it would be "considering the findings of this inquest thoroughly and carefully".

Ms Colledge, who is from Winmarleigh, Lancashire, has supported campaigns for potholes to be fixed across the UK. She said rural roads, in particular, like the one where her husband died were "riddled" with potholes, with too many councils "turning a blind eye" despite the threat to motorists and cyclists.

Bradley Jolly