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Lincolnshire police investigating whether pothole led to cyclist's death

Christian Brown died on Monday a week after being thrown from bike on group ride near Market Rasen

Police in Lincolnshire are exploring the theory that a pothole led to the death of a cyclist who died from injuries sustained when he was thrown from his bike earlier this month near Market Rasen, reports BBC News.

Christian Brown, aged 40 and membership secretary of LincsQuad, the Lincolnshire Quadrathlon Club, was riding with a group of cyclists when the incident happened on Tuesday 12 February.

He was airlifted to Hull Royal Infirmary but died on Monday 18 February from the head injuries he had received in the incident near Ash Grove Farm on the A631 at North Willingham.

"The possibility the incident was caused by a pothole will be investigated, along with other potential causes," said a Lincolnshire Police spokesman.

The police confirmed that they had contacted Lincolnshire Country Council about the condition of the road, with Sergeant Ady Wootton saying: “In general the road is in a reasonable condition but there are aspects of the road we are not satisfied with."

The council’s head of highways, Alan Aistrup, said that no report of a pothole in the area concerned had been received up to 12 February, and that the council was co-operating with police.

CTC’s Fill That Hole website and app enables potholes to be reported easily to the relevant authorities so that appropriate action can be taken.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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Mostyn | 11 years ago
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Saddened to hear the news of yet another death on the road, however or whatever the cause, But agree with other posters on this forum; potholes can cost lives. We'll soon have a complex about going out on the bike, what with the traffic, potholes; and adverse weather conditions, all being detrimental to cyclists at some point. Seems it's only the love of cycling that keeps us getting out there.

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Alan Tullett replied to Mostyn | 11 years ago
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Mostyn wrote:

Saddened to hear the news of yet another death on the road, however or whatever the cause, But agree with other posters on this forum; potholes can cost lives. We'll soon have a complex about going out on the bike, what with the traffic, potholes; and adverse weather conditions, all being detrimental to cyclists at some point. Seems it's only the love of cycling that keeps us getting out there.

Statistically, cycling is pretty safe. I certainly don't feel in any particular danger when on a bike the vast majority of the time. Generally I feel it's a bit more dangerous driving but that may be due to much less experience driving than riding, 44 v 7 years.

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Ad Hynkel | 11 years ago
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Sad story. Keep reporting folks. At least once they are reported the councils can't say we didn't know about it. It can take a while but sometimes action comes quick (2 weeks in the case of a crater in our street in Glasgow). I wonder if you stress in the description that hole could cause an accident to a cyclist/motorbike it might help wake them up a bit? Maybe not...

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Forester | 11 years ago
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The New Forest Rattler and Wiggle New Forest Ride routes have some huge potholes and anyone riding in a group will need to be very careful; can't see them all being fixed.

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bikecellar | 11 years ago
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Re Fill That Hole, reported potholes via this facility to Northumbria County Council on 11th January, still not been done  14

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mrmo | 11 years ago
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wasn't there a case a couple of years ago in Salisbury? When will councils understand that potholes whilst an inconvience to drivers, and sometimes an expensive one, really can be life threatening to cyclists.

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