Donington Wykes Lane resident feels isolated due to cavernous hole in road

A concerned resident says a cavernous hole in his road has left him isolated – and facing a long detour to get to and from his home.

Sandy Melrose, 65, of Wykes Lane in Donington, is worried about the eight foot deep and 10 foot wide hole in his road – and even joked that, at more than six foot tall, he could fit into it.

The hole was first noticed on December 12 and has now been fenced off while awaiting repairs. Mr Melrose previously had a four minute drive to get into Donington, but it now takes 12 minutes to drive the 3.5-mile detour on poor quality roads.

He’s even having to drive his bin bags a quarter of a mile away to a neighbour to ensure they can be collected.

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Mr Melrose said: “The hole is now about eight foot deep – I am more than six feet tall and if I stood in it you would struggle to see me.”

The ‘sink hole’ was caused when a culvert drain collapsed. There was a road closure instigated on December 12 but drivers were routinely disregarding it.

Mr Melrose added: “It is clearly very dangerous but they were ignoring it – but one day a tractor and trailer went over it and caused a huge dent.”

Workers from Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board (IDB) have excavated and fenced off the hole and Mr Melrose has reported the issue to Lincolnshire County Council (LCC).

He has been told that a programme of work will be taking place to fix the hole – with a completion date of February 29 – but he has concerns about access, particularly as central heating oil is due to be delivered to him in a couple of days.

Mr Melrose said: “Nothing has been done.

“It is a problem for those of us who live round here.

“It is miles the other way to get out and they are not good roads, they are farm tracks. When it is raining we can’t see the potholes either.”

He added: “My neighbour has kindly said I can use their bins.

“I am not sure if the oil truck can get here.

“Nothing is happening at all – part of me is thinking that we are a lane not a road so are we far down the pecking order?

“I feel very isolated and it stops me from going out as much.

“The difficulty is getting in touch with Lincolnshire County Council who absurdly said that last Thursday was the first they had heard about it – but that was just the first time they’d given me a reference number.”

Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board chief executive Daniel Withnail said they have completed work on the culvert – which would mean the matter is in the hands of highways workers. There is a dispute over the responsibility for the matter.

An LCC spokesman said: "Currently, we have crews ready to make sure the road is sorted as soon as the culvert is repaired.

"We will work with the IDB to achieve this and will reinstate the road as soon as it is possible for our team to get on with the works programmed."

What do you think? Is your road in a poor state? Post your thoughts in the comments below...