Dozens of drivers have been left with damaged vehicles after a pothole opened up on the A421 near Buckingham.
Just a day after 'national pothole day', a pothole on the Tingewick bypass means the road has had to be closed for emergency repairs. Reports suggest at least 50 vehicles have sustained damage, with drivers having to pull up onto the hard shoulder and many now left needing repairs.
Concerns were first raised early Friday morning (16/1) on a local Buckingham Facebook group, with community members trying to pre-warn others of the pothole's location and severity. Despite these efforts, many still appear to have struck the pothole before the road was closed, meaning unwelcome costly repairs for motorists so early into the new year.
Several motorists took to social media to share their experiences, with reports of blown and damaged tyres, while another added "There was a huge amount of cars damaged this morning when I went past at 7am and my gosh what a bang 
I’m lucky I drive an suv. I did pull into the garage to check my tire, shocked at the amount of cars in there too".
Thomas Broom, Buckinghamshire Council's Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport, said that the defect at Tingewick "is being treated as urgent" and added:
"Bad weather coupled with the recent very wet and freezing conditions has significantly impacted the condition of the roads across Buckinghamshire with new defects and potholes opening up since Christmas. We are getting to these as quickly as we can, triaging on a safety basis and then prioritising repairs as appropriate.
We continue to ask motorists to take extra care on the roads during bad weather and to keep reporting any defects and issues using the Fix My Street webpage."
The incident also follows the release of the RAC's pothole index on Thursday (January 15th), which revealed that council pothole claims across the UK have risen by 90% in three years, from 27,731 in 2021 to 53,015 in 2024. Efforts are however being made by the government, with an announcement in December last year declaring a record £7.3 billion local roads boost as part of the Autumn budget, £1.5 billion of which will go to the South East.
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