Only 5cm deep: How a pothole caused a broken neck and a bleed on the brain

The incident happened on a warm Saturday evening in April. Shortly before 11pm, Martin Wilson, an experienced cyclist, set off from his house to travel just one kilometre into the city centre to collect his daughter after work.

It was a route he knew well and a journey many people would consider routine, but within minutes of leaving his house, he had fallen from his bike.

He was found lying in the road opposite his house by a passing friend, who recognised him and immediately stopped to help. Emergency services were called, his wife was alerted, and he was taken to hospital for treatment.

It was later concluded that Martin had hit a small pothole, causing him to lose control, veering into a parked car. The crash happened on a residential road used daily by locals and Martin had been going less than 8mph, braking cautiously as he cycled down the hill to town.

Serious, but survivable injuries

At hospital, as Martin regained consciousness, he was told that scans had revealed a number of serious, but survivable injuries. These included facial fractures, a broken nose, fractures to his neck at two points in the cervical spine, two bleeds on the brain and suspected nerve damage affecting his right shoulder and arm.

Only hours earlier, Martin had been in excellent physical condition. He cycled regularly, covering more miles than he drove each year. But by the early hours of Sunday morning, he was lying in a major trauma ward wearing a rigid neck brace and undergoing further tests to understand the extent of his injuries

 

Martin’s first clear recollection was waking in hospital to be told he had come off his town bike and undergone emergency surgery to repair facial injuries. Specialist teams from neurology, spinal injuries, orthopaedics and maxillofacial surgery were involved in his care, with further scans required to assess potential nerve damage, particularly to his dominant right arm, which initially felt weak and unresponsive.

Simple tasks became challenging after the injury. Eating, drinking, washing and sitting up required assistance. With his neck immobilised and movement restricted, even changing position in bed had to be done carefully.

Despite the disruption, medics were clear that recovery was possible, though it would take time.

Over the following weeks and months, Martin set himself a structured programme of rehabilitation, working with physiotherapists, chiropractors and massage therapists. Progress was gradual, but steady. The feared long-term damage to his arm did not fully materialise, and he has thankfully regained near-normal function.

His experience has prompted renewed calls for potholes to be treated as more than just a frustration for motorists. While drivers often associate potholes with damaged tyres or costly repairs, for people cycling – particularly those making short, everyday journeys – uneven road surfaces can pose a different kind of risk.

Potholes pose a serous safety risk

Cycling short distances remains one of the healthiest and most affordable ways to travel, offering physical and mental health benefits while reducing congestion and pollution.

“This wasn’t about speed or recklessness,” Duncan Dollimore, Head of Campaigns at Cycling UK, said. “It was about a road defect that had been there for some time. If it had been repaired earlier, this accident would never have happened.”

He went on to say, “not only are potholes an inconvenience that can damage a person’s car, but to people who cycle they’re a serious safety risk. Over the past decade, poor or defective road surfaces have contributed to the deaths of around three cyclists a year and the serious injury of more than 60 others annually.

“Commitment to fixing our nation’s potholes will save lives, but we must ensure that funding addresses safety and infrastructure concerns in both rural and urban communities. Only then can we ensure that these efforts truly benefit all cyclists and road users nationwide.”

Local authorities across the country face growing backlogs of road repairs, with potholes often reported multiple times before action is taken. Budget pressures mean defects are sometimes prioritised based on their impact on vehicles, rather than on vulnerable road users.

This case highlights why that approach may need to change

 

Martin has thankfully since returned to normal activities and continues to support cycling as a safe, practical way to get around – while also calling for faster, more consistent repairs to damaged roads.

Potholes are not just an inconvenience. When left unaddressed, they can turn an ordinary, short journey into an avoidable accident – and that is why they need to be taken seriously, fixed promptly and prevented wherever possible.