A trip home ended in misery for a man who was met by an unfortunate incident that left his car rim badly damaged on the Old Middelburg Road (R555).

Adding to numerous complaints about potholes that have become a persistent problem in the City of Coal, Kenneth Mahlangu has reported a distressing experience he had with a massive pothole on the R555 on April 21 around 19:00, which resulted in a punctured tyre and damaged rim of his car.

Kenneth said the nightmare occurred on his way from eMalahleni to Belfast in which he used the route he described as a ‘high-risk area’, especially for hijacking.

“I was driving along when I hit a huge pothole, and it was unavoidable,” he explained, adding that the severity of the impact caused his tyre to blow out, and damaged the rim beyond repair.

Kenneth estimated that the pothole was too large for his 17-inch rim to withstand, causing it to crack into three pieces.

Fortunately for him, he was able to get assistance from residents in the area who helped him replace the damaged tyre with a spare tyre.

“That road is too busy for it to be that bad. It’s a high-risk area, and potholes like the one I hit can cause serious accidents,” he said, further advising that everyone who uses that road needs to maintain the recommended following distance from other vehicles, reduce speed, and keep their eyes on the road at all times.

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