M5 drainage to be improved where family's car aquaplaned

A stretch of the M5 near Bristol where a family's car aquaplaned and crashed into the central reservation is to undergo drainage improvement works.

Sam Fletcher, her husband and sons were driving north between Clevedon and Portishead in December when their car "hit a stream" and spun out of control.

She said: "We ended up in the middle of the carriageway. It was terrifying."

Highways England said "surface water" issues had been identified on the M5 and it was working to improve drainage.

Ms Fletcher, from Axbridge in Somerset, said her family were heading to Cheltenham when their car hit a "stretch of water".

"We knew the road was wet and saw a couple of cars swerving so we slowed down to 50mph," she said.

"But when we hit this stream of water we lost control of the car and just aquaplaned and span and hit the central reservation and span again and ended up in the middle of the carriageway."

She said she was left with nerve damage in her left arm and her husband, who had been driving, was diagnosed with whiplash.

"It was the most scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life, especially having the boys in the car. It was absolutely terrifying. We still get flashbacks," she said.

"It's obvious there's a drainage issue there and at the moment that stretch of road is not safe."

A Highways England spokesman said it routinely carried out maintenance work "to rectify any drainage issues".

"We have identified issues concerning surface water on a section of the M5 just north of junction 19 and we are now working towards improving drainage on this section with a major scheme earmarked for next summer," he said.

"In the meantime, we've also increased our inspection and maintenance regime in this location."