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Mechanics the only winners as roads crumble
There's a silver lining to the misery of potholes as garages report a rise in business from disgruntled motorists with damaged cars.
Garages are dealing with various problems including wrecked tyres and wheels and damaged suspension and tracking.
In one case, a motorist was unable to continue his journey after hitting a pothole which left his car undriveable.
Paul Evans, of HiQ in Rushden, said: "The biggest case cost just over 500.
"The gentleman drove into a pothole in High Street South in Rushden and it ruined his wheel and tyre and damaged the vehicle's wishbone
suspension, ball joint and track rod end, leaving his car undriveable.
The cases of pothole damage has been exceptionally high this year."
Services manager John Turnbull, of Brunel Motors in Corby, said: "This has been the worst year. We must have done eight suspension repairs in a matter of six weeks and have seen probably about 10 damaged wheels so far this year when normally I'd expect to see one or two."
Pedro Nelson, who owns Speedy Auto-Care Centre in Kettering, has been a victim of pothole damage himself.
He said: "I hit a pothole which buckled my wheel. There was nothing I could do to avoid it.
"I was hoping to get compensation but won't because there haven't been enough complaints about the pothole."
General manager Simon Martin, of Rockingham Cars in Rushden, said: "We've dealt with some incidents including an expensive one where we had to replace an alloy. There's definitely been a rise in cases, particularly from around Rushden where the situation is bad."
In January, Northamptonshire County Council revealed it needed at least 20m to properly tackle the problem of potholes.
A council spokesman said: "We're committed to maintaining the road network but our budget is not unlimited and repairs have to be prioritised.
"Roads in need of repair for safety reasons are our first priority and will usually be dealt with immediately. "
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Weather for Kettering
Sunday 27 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
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