Line of cars stranded beyond M6 puncture pothole

An "unavoidable" pothole on the M6 motorway in Cumbria is to be permanently fixed a year after it first appeared.

Dash-cam footage posted on social media showed a line of 17 cars on the hard shoulder just past the pothole near Tebay two weeks ago.

One of the drivers, Lynne Davis from Birmingham, said she heard “a big bang” as two of her tyres were destroyed by the collapsed surface.

National Highways said it initially performed a temporary repair after the hole emerged in March 2023.

Ms Davis, who was heading south when her car was damaged, said: “It was really scary.

"My first thought was 'at least I haven’t lost control, I haven’t skidded across the carriageways'."

Recalling the accident, she said: "Suddenly there was this big hole in front of me that I could not avoid.

"It was about a metre across and it was taking up about a third of the lane, there was no way I could dodge it.

"I couldn’t see how deep it was, so I just hoped for the best. I think I touched the brakes a bit, I can’t really remember.”

But as she brought the car under control, she realised she was not alone.

“You don’t normally have to look for a parking space on the hard shoulder, but on this occasion I did.

"There was a line of about 20 cars already on the hard shoulder, so I pulled in about half way along this line of traffic.”

Two of Lynne’s tyres were badly damaged and, eventually, after two hours spent on the side of the motorway she was back on her way.

The pothole was first reported in March 2023.

In a statement National Highways said: “As soon as we became aware we took immediate action to temporarily repair the pothole, however, over time it resurfaced meaning a more comprehensive repair was needed.

"To address this, we have extended the Lune Gorge closure on the M6 to include this specific pothole.

"The repair process is under way and will be completed in the next couple of weeks ensuring the road’s safety to all users.”

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