Inside Britain's deepest pothole! 5ft crater has already wrecked a BMW and sent a Deliveroo rider flying off their e-bike

Inside Britain's deepest pothole! 5ft crater has already wrecked a BMW and sent a Deliveroo rider flying off their e-bike

A pothole believed to be Britain's deepest extends five feet down and has reportedly already wrecked a BMW and sent a Deliveroo driver flying off his e-bike - but has this week been filled.

The pothole on Rogers Road in Canning Town, London, became famous after a 41-year-old man was pictured inside the hole with only his head peeking out from the road.

Dean Hope, a gas engineer who is 5ft 6, was almost completely swallowed up by the pothole after it developed into a crater last week.

Locals say it first appeared after the road was resurfaced two years ago, but several botched repair jobs later led to the collapse which locals said put drivers at serious risk.

Contractors were finally sent out to thoroughly repair the pothole this week, and sad it was 'one of the worst' they'd ever seen.

Dean Hope, 41, climbed into the pothole to show its depth, saying it poses a danger to motorists

Mr Hope told the Sun: 'I got in it as a joke but it isn't funny to motorists.

'I wouldn't have wanted to drive over that in my car. It would have ripped half my suspension off.

'We are all paying taxes for these things to be fixed — but they just aren't being fixed. If someone had hit this they could have really been hurt.'

Local residents placed cones around the hole after it collapsed to try and prevent anyone approaching it - but it has reportedly already caused accidents.

Newham council has claimed the hole is actually a sinkhole. A Newham Council spokesperson said: 'This is not a pothole. A 5ft deep sinkhole appeared overnight due to subsidence. 

'Subsidence on roads can occur anywhere in the country, although it is more common in areas of East London. The main reason for subsidence is the washed-out soil under the road surface. 

'We have taken action to respond to the sinkhole as soon as it was reported. This has been made safe and will shortly be resurfaced. This will be completed by the end of April.'

One of the contractors employed by the council, Paul Morris, 42, said: 'It's certainly one of the worst potholes I've ever come across.'

It came after data revealed the worst 10 areas in the UK for potholes, with more than 90,000 appearing in Derbyshire alone. 

Back to blog

Leave a comment