A POTHOLE dubbed "the devil's crater" has left Ongar motorists thousands of pounds out of pocket after claiming no less than 12 victims in just one day.
Safety wheels, spanners, nuts and hub caps were strewn across the layby on the A113 London/Romford Road, near Stanford Rivers as motorists frantically worked to get their cars back on the road.
Fingers are now being pointed at Essex County Council as to why the hazard was left unrepaired for so long.
Father-of-two Melvin Laws was fuming after picking up a puncture and battering his nearside wheel when his six-month-old Ford Mondeo clobbered the concrete chasm.
He is expecting a bill for £350.
"If you get along that road you will see the top layer of the tarmac is completely off, he said.
"It's a hot spot anyway for collisions and accidents and I'm sure that it's because people are swerving the potholes.
"But I hit this one and then went forward another few yards to a parking area, where there were another six cars all changing their wheels.
"One guy came straight up to me and said 'not you as well?'"
The pothole, which is now understood to have been filled in, was around the size of a piece of A4 paper and four inches deep.
Mr Laws, 40, from Marden Ash, added: "I think that must have caught out at least 100 vehicles, if not more.
"That road has been like it for a long time, and for the last couple of years it's been deteriorating and they have occasionally patched it up, but they just do the minimum they need to do.
"They have left the potholes for so long, they have done nothing and this was the only outcome."
Jeff Lovell, 57, was also in the lay-by as the catastrophic events of February 11 unfolded.
The Ongar resident said he saw around 12 vehicles pulled over that evening.
He said: "I don't know what I pay my council tax for – I don't want to sound like a moaner but this was very dangerous and I just want to know how long this has taken to fill in?
"I have got such a big car that maybe I got away with it, but other cars going down there, it was just pop, pop, pop.
"Driving along that stretch of road, unless you saw it, most cars are going to hit it and when I did it was such as shudder that I thought it must have done some damage."
His Ford Cougar jeep thudded into the road crack, and although his tyre did not burst, he suspects a wheel may have sustained damage.
It is anticipated that at least a dozen motorists will be making claims to Essex County Council for damages, which could cost the tax payer more than £4,000.
A council spokesman said: "The maintenance of the county's road network continues to be one of Essex County Council's top priorities.
"An inspector visited this site on Monday to assess the status of the pothole, which had already been brought to ECC's attention and scheduled for repair at a later date.
"As it was seen to have deteriorated, an immediate temporary repair was scheduled for the same afternoon.
"In order to ensure safety and minimise disruption to the road network, the County Council has to prioritise work on road defects that present the most immediate safety risk.
"Please be assured that all claims received by Essex County Council are investigated fully."
