Pothole on B1457 Near Shotley Causes Car Damage, Awaits Repair

Pip Mellish, who is 61, drove to babysit. It was around 6:50 AM on February 11. She traveled on the B1457 in Shotley, nearing Church Walk junction, close to Ipswich. Driving in the dark, she hit a pothole.

Soon after, her tire started hissing from the passenger side. Mrs. Mellish pulled over somewhere safer. She tried pumping the tire, but it was damaged on the rim. Air was escaping rapidly, leaving the tire completely wrecked.

Another driver reported the same pothole on the same day as Pip. The pothole was also reported on February 2, over three weeks prior. Yellow lines surround the pothole now, yet it hasn’t been repaired.

Suffolk Highways ordered repairs, planning to fix it within ten work days. They recently fixed another pothole along the same road. However, the one that damaged Pip’s car needs fixing.

Pip, from Shotley, cares for her grandkids and enjoys spending time with animals. She thinks fixing one pothole and not the other is weird. Pip said you can’t see it until it’s too late.

The fixed pothole had been worse, she thinks, but fixing both seems sensible. She feels lucky it wasn’t a bigger problem. Fixing it won’t only help her now, but also her daughter with childcare.

She hopes they fix the pothole soon because it could prevent a more dangerous incident. They circled it and ordered the repairs, after all.