Sidcup motorcyclist ‘lucky to be alive’ after hitting pothole

Richard Dowdle was travelling to work in Ashford on his Yamaha bike at around 7am on May 3 when he hit a pothole on the A20.

The 50-year-old described the “horror” moment when swerved across three lanes of the A20 while riding at 70mph.

Damage to Richard's motorbike (Image: Contributor)

He told the News Shopper: “I’m lucky to be alive, to be honest. I was just riding normally and didn’t notice the pothole.

“Then I hit and swerved and luckily, I was not hit by any cars because it’s a busy motorway.

“I was able to hold control of the bike and pulled over to the side of the road.

“A man in a white van stopped to see if I was ok. I was shocked and didn’t quite understand what happened as it was all too quick.”

Damage on Richard's motorbike (Image: Contributor)

After pulling over on the A20, Richard realised the two tyres on his bike were left “completely damaged”.

He called a rescue engineer to collect him from the side of the motorway and was also forced to cancel going to work.

Richard added: “The engineer from the AA was also left in shock and said I was lucky after looking at the state of the bike.

“It really was a horror experience, it really was. Especially for it to happen on a motorway, I’m really lucky to be alive.”

Damage on Richard's motorbike (Image: Contributor)

Following the rescue, Richard took his bike into a workshop but was left “shocked” after being quoted £2,000 for a repair.

He contacted Highways England to explain the incident and notified them of the cost of the service.

A spokesperson for National Highways said Richard's claim was denied after an investigation was carried out.

It confirmed that there was no evidence of category one large potholes on the A2.

Richard explained: “I cannot afford to lose this much money, it wasn’t my fault.

“I called Highways England to notify them of the pothole and the cost of my repairs, but they told me that it was not their responsibility and was told to contact another company called Connect Plus.

“So, I filled out a form with documents of the repair costs and evidence that the incident happened.

“After not hearing back for a while Connect Plus eventually told me they will not cover the costs.”

Richard paid £2,000 from his own pocket but has concerns this will impact him financially during the cost-of-living crisis.

He also worries motorists can get “seriously” hurt due to the “lack” of responsibility from companies who repair after motorways.

Richard added: “Someone can seriously get hurt, they need to take the potholes as a serious matter.

“Our roads and motorways need to be kept in good condition, otherwise it’s really not safe.

“I was really lucky not to hurt myself.”

Richard is now calling for Connect Plus to cover the costs of his repairs following the incident.

Richard explained: “I’d like them to cover my costs because it’s not my fault.

“They’ve not kept their roads safe and as a result, this happened.

“They can see I’m not making it up and I’ve provided them will all the documents.

“It was a bad experience, I would not wish it upon anyone.”

National Highways confirmed that the appeals process is currently ongoing and it will report back to Richard once the process has been completed.

The full statement from National Highways said: "Upon receiving the claim from Mr Dowdle, we carried out a full investigation to see whether there were any defects in the specific area on the A20 that could have caused the damage to the motorcycle.

"The investigation found no evidence of category one large potholes, which is why the claim was denied.

"The appeals process is currently ongoing and we will report back to Mr Dowdle once the process has been completed."

The News Shopper has contacted Connect Plus for a comment regarding Richard's situation.