A DRIVER called police after a pothole the size of a “huge crater” appeared on a road and punctured several car tyres.

One of the drivers, Nasima Dhumadia, said cars were “lined up on the side of Belmont Road with their hazard lights on” at around 10.30pm on Friday.

After visiting her parents in Bolton, Ms Dhumadia drove over the pothole on the A675, near Belmont Reservoir, and her Mercedes got two punctures. After discussing the incident with other drivers, she called the police, who contacted Highways England to deal with the pothole ­— which was filled in at 1am on Saturday morning.

The group of at least six motorists collected traffic cones and reflective signs from a nearby farm, which they placed around the large pothole to warn oncoming drivers.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “We were made aware of the incident just before 10.30pm on Friday evening. We wouldn’t usually deal with such incidents and it was passed on to Highways England.”

Ms Dhumadia’s car is being repaired at a garage and she said she plans to claim for the full cost of the work ­— totalling around £1,000 ­— from Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Another driver, Ovais Butt, said two of his tyres were punctured by the pothole and the alloy on one of his car’s wheels had buckled.

“I will be writing to the council and will send them the invoices for the damage caused,” he said.

Cllr Colin Rigby, whose West Pennine ward covers the area, said: “Potholes are an endemic problem and, while there are regular road checks carried out, it means nothing if you don’t catch them the first time round ­— you have to wait another three months for it to be spotted.

"The main problem is reporting them. A lot of people put them up on Facebook which is useful to an extent but doesn’t actually solve the problem.

“If it was my vehicle damaged by the road, I’d be suing the council. We’re all paying the same tax and we should expect the same treatment.”

A spokesman for Blackburn with Darwen Council said: “We were alerted to a pothole on Belmont Road on Friday evening and traffic management including cones and signs were put in place around the pothole. On Saturday, repairs were carried out on the pothole and it was filled in.”

A pothole on the same stretch of road caused damage to 30 cars in December 2017.