Bike rider who 'cheated death' to sue council

A cyclist who 'cheated death' when his front wheel got stuck in a rutted pothole is suing a council after discovering that another cyclist had suffered the same fate just weeks before.

- Tristan Cork

Andy Bevan, inset, suffered serious multiple injuries when he went over the handlebars on Castle Road in Clevedon, six weeks after the 'invisible crack' was reported to North Somerset Council.

As he lay on the road with a fractured neck, a retired GP rushed to his aid and told him another cyclist had done the exact same thing on the same spot just six weeks earlier, and had complained to the council.

But the local authority told his lawyer they went out to inspect the road after that first complaint and didn't think it needed repairing. Now, the former police detective is suing the council and calling for an early-warning system to be put in place to alert people to hazardous road surfaces.