Badly cracked road means 'no need for bike stands'

1 hour ago

Charis Scott-HolmEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

News image — Cyclist Chris Nagel posted this photo on social media with the caption: "In Lincolnshire we don't need to fit stands to our bicycles"

Chris Nagel A black racing bicycle is standing inside a large crack in a rural road on a sunny day. — Cyclist Chris Nagel posted this photo on social media with the caption: "In Lincolnshire we don't need to fit stands to our bicycles"

A cyclist has highlighted the issue of cracked roads after discovering one measuring "around half a metre deep" on a country road in Lincolnshire.

Chris Nagel, 40, was enjoying a bike ride from his home in Wainfleet along Thorpe Bank on Sunday when he took a photo of his bike standing in the fissure.

Nagel said: "I drive and ride my motorcycle on that road regularly, but even though I go steady along that stretch, it's still too fast to really see how bad the road surface really is. You'll only see it properly as a cyclist or a pedestrian."

Shaun Butcher, of Lincolnshire County Council, said the authority was "aware of the issues mentioned" and would "fix them in accordance with our policies".

Butcher added: "We are seeing drought damage affecting certain roads at the moment as the ground underneath shrinks and shifts in the extreme weather.

"This is happening in areas across the country, not just our county."

Nagel, a lorry driver, reported the crack using the Fix My Street website. The council urged others who spotted these issues to do the same.

A large crack in a tarmac road in a rural location, with fields surrounding it and blue skies overhead. — Spalding Road in Crowland has been closed for public safety since 2025

Mike Hansford, CEO of the Road Surface Treatment Association, said that unlike potholes, which are surface issues, the cracks were caused by conditions in the foundations of the roads.

He said hotter, drier conditions during heatwaves and droughts caused some soils, such as clay, to dry out and shrink before expanding again during wetter spells.

Hansford said the road building industry was "starting to see the impact of climate change" and the association was encouraging the use of "geosynthetic" and "steel reinforcement" layers under roads to help reduce the risk of cracks.

A mother demonstrates how easy it is to get a scooter wheel stuck in a crack in the pavement - this is close-up shot of the families' feet with a purple scooter's front wheel jammed. — The footpath, which is popular with families in Thorngumbald, has been described as a hazard for children

Elsewhere, a long crack along a footpath in Thorngumbald has been described as "dangerous" and "a hazard" by families living nearby.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council said that since the footpath was unadopted, they would see whether there was anything they could do to improve it as "an act of goodwill".

Families said the crack, in the East Yorkshire village, had worsened in the hot weather during the summer holidays.

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