CREWE commuters face a gauntlet of potholes in Church Minshull, according to drivers who want Cheshire East Council (CEC) to pay for damage to their cars.

Mandi Lloyd has written to CEC seeking reimbursement of the £249 repair work to her Suzuki Alto.

Mandi, a school teacher in Crewe, said she was returning home along the B5074 at 5.30pm on February 4 when she hit a ‘massive’ pothole beside the kerb.

She explained: “The road has no street lighting, which made the hole difficult to miss as it was dark. “This area of road is extremely dangerous given the position of the hole on a narrow sweeping bend.

“I hit the hole with such force it immediately burst my tyre. I pulled the car over a few yards up the road and had to ring my husband for assistance.”

John Lloyd likened the pothole to a ‘trench’, 4ft long and 2ft wide. After inspecting the wheel the next morning, the couple found the tyre had split and the wheel was badly buckled.

Mandi added that she ‘would be very surprised if this is not a daily occurrence for other drivers.’ One such driver is Ginette Woodward, who has been off work with stress after she was stranded on the B5074 in the pitch black.

Without her car, the 36-year-old has been unable to get to her job as a carer in Northwich, or transport her child to primary school.

Ginette said she spent her journey on January on Wednesday, January 30, ‘dodging potholes’ before she felt a sharp thud to her wheel.

“It was 7.15pm. It was pitch black and I couldn’t see a thing. I got back in my car and pulled over in the nearest lay by. I was shaking with the whole experience. I was close to tears and I panicked. I couldn’t find my mobile phone to contact my parents for help,” she said.

Ginette’s wheel was so badly damaged that she had to abandon her vehicle until the next day. Now she wants Cheshire East to reimburse £300 damage to her vehicle.

CEC have announced a £25 million investment in tackling potholes and the council are in the process of prioritising routes needing the most urgent attention