Potholes are nothing new to Mansfield and Ashfield as dramatic photo shows

After a giant hole outside the New Cross pub on Mansfield Road, Sutton, went viral – creative residents photoshopped all manner of different people and creatures inside – other residents have since come forward about potholes across the community, in Warsop, Mansfield, Kirkby, Sutton, and Jacksdale.

Nottinghamshire Council, the county highways authority, said the problem in Sutton had been caused by a burst water main.

And our records show burst water mains are not just an issue of the present.

As this photo from more than 40 years ago shows, a family car was submerged by a water-logged hole on New Mill Lane, near the junction of Roman Bank, Mansfield Woodhouse.

June Blake, who was in the car with her husband, Bill, at the time, said: “My husband and I were just coming home from work before picking up the children from school.

“The road was open, but the water was pouring down the hill onto the main road and we were waved forward by a policeman standing in the centre of the road.

“The workmen had been repairing the water pipes and filled in the holes and gone home, suddenly the car lurched forward and down the hole previously made by the workmen.

“The man responsible for getting us out of the car was Brian Crookes, who was working in his garden at the time and saw it happen. Sadly Brian is no longer with us but we are forever in his debt.”