Hidden M25 pothole takes out TWENTY cars leaving fuming drivers stuck in 5 mile queues

DRIVERS have been left stranded on the side of the M25 after a "hidden" pothole caused more than a dozen breakdowns during rush hour.

The "massive" hole was apparently all but invisible to the motorists, as pictures showed around 20 cars lined up on the hard shoulder.

The M25 is one of Britain's busiest roads and is used by around 200,000 vehicles a day.

Buta section of the route was clogged up with reports of five-mile queues on Wednesday morning after drivers came across a nasty surprise on the road surface.

Lorry driver Blaine Conway, 39, said he heard a "big bang" as he hit the crater, forcing him to pull over.

He told The Sun: "I was leaving work around half five, and I was on the M25 southbound between junction 13 and 12.

"It was very dark and it was raining. All of a sudden I heard a big bang and I knew something was wrong.

"I parked up on the hard shoulder where I saw two or three other cars. At one point there were 27 cars parked on the side of the road."

Blaine thought to himself "that's going to cost me money."

He added: "It was very dark and the pothole was in Lane 2.

"Because people are going at 60mph and it's dark it was impossible to try and slow people down.

"One by one we saw the drivers pulling in front of me having hit the pothole.

"I had one tire damaged but many people had two tires ruined. Many people also did not have a spare tyre, and I didn't either."

After refusing the cost of having a spare tire brought to him, Blaine walked four miles to the nearest tyre shop to get a replacement.

But he spoke positively of the community spirit behind all the affected drivers.

He said: "Some people there had never changed a tyre in their life so it was nice to see everyone mucking in to help change the tyres.

"I reckon there was a few thousands of pounds worth of damage as a result."

National Highways said that it was alerted to the pothole around 6am and a repair team arrived within an hour.

The road was open again within three hours.

The agency has not confirmed any compensation but does allow drivers to make ";red claims" if their vehicle is damaged or they are injured on one of its roads.

Its website states: "We aim to protect the public purse by only settling claims against the company where there is a clear liability.

"However, there is no automatic right to compensation or damages.

"The law makes it clear that highway authorities cannot be blamed for everything that happens on their roads.

"Although National Highways maintains the SRN (strategic road network), it cannot be held responsible for every problem which arises."

A spokesperson for National Highways said: "We are sorry to hear of this incident and the inconvenience and concern it will have caused.

"When potholes do occur we repair them as soon as possible, and we are presently in the process of a repair to be carried out as soon as possible.

"Our comprehensive maintenance and renewals programme, which we operate across all of our major roads and motorways, helps to minimise the risks of potholes occurring but it can't eradicate them.  

"Safety is National Highways top priority, and on dual carriageways like the M25 we carry out a rolling programme of safety inspections to maintain our roads in a safe condition while causing minimal disruption for road users."