Motorcyclist suffers '£1000 damage' after driving over pothole

When driving to his partner's house on Saturday, March 9, Steven Dunn said he hit a large pothole that had formed around a grid on Litherland Crescent in Haresfinch.

Being more vulnerable to road defects as a motorcyclist, Steven said he was thrown from his vehicle which caused him an injury and damage to his motorbike.

Further damage is said to have been caused as the motorcycle collided with a parked car following the impact, with the cost of the damage reported to have totalled more than £1000.

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Steven said the roads are getting worse and worse for motorcyclists (Image: Steven Dunn)
Steven, a forklift truck driver, said that he paid the cost of the damage upfront as he believes this will be cheaper for him in the long-run, but admitted he is looking into making a claim against the council due to the state of the road.

Steven, who is based in Liverpool but regularly visits his partner in St Helens, said: "We're looking at making a claim because I was only driving around 10 to 15 miles an hour and now I've had to pay over £1000.

"I've been driving motorbikes for more than 35 years but the roads just seem to be getting worse and worse.

"Some of my friends have said the same and it seems that even when the potholes are addressed, they aren't filled in properly.

"Potholes are not great when you're driving around in a car but on a motorbike they can be really dangerous."

Steven's partner, Tracy Owen added: "It's a good job Steven wears the correct riding gear, so luckily, the bike jacket he had on took the brunt of it, but he had pain in his side for a few days afterwards."

Steven said the incident caused his vehicle and a parked car more than £1000 in damage costs (Image: Steven Dunn)
Steven and Tracy are not the only ones frustrated about the state of the roads in St Helens in recent months, after it was revealed that the number of recorded potholes were the highest they had been for six years in 2023.

In response, St Helens Council said that its highways team work exceptionally hard to respond to reported potholes and road defects, with around 1,700 repairs carried out last year.  

The council has also been trialling low-carbon methods to repair potholes as it looks to maintain roads following central government budget cuts.

A Star paper placed to show the size of the road defect on Litherland Crescent (Image: Steven Dunn)
A St Helens Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are committed to maintaining and improving all 484 miles of St Helens Borough’s road network.

"Between January and December last year, the council carried out 3,767 carriageway and pothole repairs – more than the 1,611 potholes reported to us – and in the coming year we will invest £8.9m in our road network.

“We would encourage residents to report potholes to us for repair at www.sthelens.gov.uk/report-it.”