FURIOUS motorists have questioned why it took so long to fix a broken manhole which caused dozens of punctures on the A120.

BT Openreach has confirmed the defective manhole, located on the westbound carriageway near Bradwell, has now been repaired after emergency work was undertaken last week.

It came after several drivers suffered punctures after hitting the metal cover, which had come loose and was sticking out above the road surface.

Christine Anderson, from Marks Tey, was one motorist who was left stranded when she suffered a puncture.

She said: “As my car doesn’t carry a spare tyre and my tyre was completely slashed it took about four hours to fix it.

“The policeman that came on Monday gave us an incident number and just laid the cover flat again but told me the out rim was now broken so it was going to keep happening.

“It’s not just the shock of it happening or the waiting for repairs, but also the time it takes out of your day.

“The occupants of one car were on their way to Stansted, I had an appointment in Braintree which I couldn’t get to.

“I’m surprised there hasn’t been any crashes caused by this.

“It’s the inconvenience caused by Highways England not doing its job and causing potential life threatening obstacles.”

Another driver who also suffered damage added: “I just can’t believe it wasn’t fixed straight away. So many cars were hitting it and getting punctures.”

Staff at the nearby BP garage declined to comment on the issue but did confirm they had reported the defective manhole to Highways England back on December 23.

They also confirmed 18 drivers had been stranded at the petrol station on one specific day, having suffered punctures caused by the problem.

A spokesman for Highways England said: “We keep the condition of the A120 continually under review.

“We inspect its road surface weekly and repair or report any defects that pose a safety risk within 24 hours.

“We have been in touch with BT Openreach, about repairing it – both when it first occurred and again this week when its condition deteriorated further.

“We apologise for any damage caused to road users vehicles.”

More Manholes to be fixed on A120

BT Openreach says it will be repairing more manholes on the A120 in the coming days.

Overnight work began yesterday on fixing three more inspection chambers on the stretch of road which runs through Bradwell.

BT has urged any drivers who have suffered damage because of the defective manhole near the BP petrol station to get in touch but the firm has stopped short of issuing an apology following the recent problems.

A spokesman said: “We understand there has been concern from the local community regarding a broken manhole cover on the A120 near Bradwell. The initial problem was that the cover had been damaged by a third party and had become sunken.

“This was reported to Openreach on December 21 and we immediately raised a job to repair the cover, working with Highways England to request the appropriate traffic management to do the job safely.

“Arranging works on a busy trunk road such as the A120 is complex and normally involves the need for night-works; we were given approval to do the job on February 18.

“On Tuesday, January 8, further inspection of the site showed that the cover had collapsed.

“The site was made safe for the public and the repair was completed on January 9, working with Highways England.

“There are several other manholes on the same stretch of road which are not dangerous to the public but require maintenance.

“If a member of the public has incurred damage a vehicle, details can be sent to plclaims@bt.com.”

Further repair work will take place between 8pm and 6am tonight and overnight next Tuesday.