The wife of a “much loved” member of the cycling community in the north west of England, who died after his front wheel became lodged in a nine-inch-deep crack in the road surface, throwing him from his bike, has called on both the government and local authorities to do more to repair potholes on the UK’s “woefully inadequate” roads.
As we reported earlier this week, 84-year-old retired music teacher and father-of-three Harry Colledge was cycling on a rural road near the Lancashire village of Winmarleigh at around 11am on Monday 2 January when the front wheel of his Claud Butler bike got stuck in a deep crack in the road, throwing him off and causing serious injuries.
The former Cleveleys Road Club president was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries. Local police have launched an investigation into the circumstances leading to the crash, with particular emphasis on finding a woman who stopped to give first aid at the scene.
> Cyclist in his 80s died after wheel got stuck in cracked road
The details surrounding the 84-year-old’s death have raised concerns about the condition of the road, with photos taken by a Lancashire Live reporter on Island Lane – the scene of the crash – showing visible damage and lengthy cracks.
The late cyclist’s wife, Valerie Colledge, has now said that both central and local governments need to do more to protect people riding bikes on damaged rural roads.
“Potholes are a horrendous problem for cyclists,” Mrs Colledge told the Telegraph. “Harry’s front wheel got stuck in a nine-inch-deep pothole. A local farmer told me she had complained to the council about the pothole, but nothing was done.
“Roads here are in a terrible condition. The lane where Harry died is used by heavy milk trucks, tractors, and lorries, so often subsides.”
> Cyclists hospitalised by loose gravel crash seek compensation from council
According to data from the Department for Transport, at least 425 cyclists have been killed or injured due to poor or defective road surfaces since 2016.
In October, a coroner’s report raised concerns about Surrey County Council's lack of action in repairing dangerous potholes, one of which caused a fatal cycling crash in June 2020.
Less than a month earlier, we reported that three Tamworth Cycling Club riders were left badly injured, one in critical care, and with an estimated £10,000 worth of damage, following a crash on a road the council admits was scheduled for repairs.
Cycling UK’s Keir Gallagher says that Mr Colledge’s death highlights the serious threat posed by potholes and road defects to cyclists, arguing that “our crumbling roads… are deterring many from taking up cycling”.
“Popping out for some exercise in the countryside shouldn’t be a high-risk activity: it’s time for the Government to get serious about the risk potholes pose, and to ensure local authorities have long-term funding to properly fix and maintain the local roads,” he said.
Jack Cousens of the AA added that cyclists face “the hardest of choices about whether to hit the pothole or swerve and hope they avoid other traffic”.
> Dangerous pothole that caused fatal cycling crash was reported multiple times without action
Rick Green, the chairman of the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), which represents road repair companies, says that there is a stark contrast between funding for urban and rural roads, and that a recent survey found that £12 billion was needed to bring roads “up to scratch”. Green also told the Telegraph that a “longer-term funding horizon” would help local councils better plan their road maintenance.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We continue to work tirelessly to improve safety, which is why we are investing more than £5 billion from 2020 to 2025 into local highways maintenance.
“This funding is allocated based on the length and type of roads – without any regional bias – and local authorities decide how to use it based on local needs.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council has said that the local authority was “looking into the circumstances” of Mr Colledge’s death and was cooperating with the police investigation.
“A true gentleman”
Since news emerged of the 84-year-old cyclist’s tragic death on Monday, tributes have poured in for the “much loved” member of the cycling community in the north-west of England.
A former art and music teacher, the mainly self-taught musician was a stalwart of the Blackpool jazz scene and the long-time principal clarinettist for the Blackpool Symphony Orchestra, as well as being a prominent figure within Lancashire’s cycling community who served as president of his boyhood club and raced the Tour of Ireland.
“Harry started cycling at school, which he apparently took up to get out of playing rugby, and one of his friends there was [England World Cup winning footballer] Jimmy Armfield,” Gil Davies, the secretary of Cleveleys Road Club, told the Blackpool Gazette.
“He soon realised that cycling was quite enjoyable, and it became a lifelong passion with Cleveleys Road Club, touring, racing, and time trialling and trips to the track at Fallowfield, Manchester.
“Together with the club’s other famous member, Randy Allsopp, he represented the club in the Tour of Ireland.
“After a brief time teaching in Manchester he resumed cycling with Cleveleys Road Club in the 1970s. He was a vital member of the club for more than 50 years, always involved in organising social events and racing and later becoming President of the club.”
Davies continued: “His annual jazz nights at Scorton, attended mainly by the cycling community in the north west, were frequently sold out.
“He was a much-loved member, not just within Cleveleys Road Club but throughout the North West cycling community.”