An angry motorist claims that a pothole on a busy St Albans road keeps opening up and has damaged her vehicle and that of other drivers who went down it.

Last month the Herts Advertiser reported how a pothole in Watford Road, on the opposite side to H. R. Owen Car Sales, had caused so much damage to cars which hit it that one was written off and around a dozen other motorists faced expensive repairs.

This week another motorist, whose tyre blew out when she hit a pothole in the same spot, said that in a similar scenario, a number of other motorists had suffered damage as well.

The woman from Park Street, who did not wish to be named, said that last Wednesday, January 29, she had been driving along Watford Road and noticed a number of cars parked in a slip road.

It was raining heavily and just before she got to the junction with Forefield, she hit the pothole.

She said: “I have an old car and there was an almighty crack and the tyre had blown out.”

She described the pothole as over 4ft long and 3ft wide and said that when she put her walking stick in it, the water came up by around 5in.

The motorist pulled into the slip road where she found there were already two AA vans helping disabled vehicles.

She was told that there were another eight damaged vehicles in the Chiswell Green petrol station.

She had left home shortly before 9pm that evening and did not get back until 12.30am the following morning.

The motorist, who is still driving on a temporary tyre, was told by a lady living close to the site that the pothole had been filled in but it was only makeshift and it had opened up again.

When she contacted the county council, as the highways authority, she was told that she would have to make a claim for compensation which could take up to 18 weeks but not to “hold your breath”.

She added: “We were all very lucky that no-one crashed as a result of it.

“Anyone could have lost control of their car.”

Matthew Kelley, divisional manager for Ringway, told the Herts Advertiser: “We are aware of the issue of potholes in Watford Road, St Albans, and our teams are currently investigating.”