"The defect remained in the road and dangerous": Cyclist's death prompts coroner to question water company's 'reliance on third parties to report issues', after crash caused by sunken fire hydrant

An inquest has heard concerns from a coroner who questioned water company United Utilities in relation to the death of a cyclist following a crash caused by a sunken fire hydrant.

A Lancashire Post reporter was at Preston Coroner's Court to hear Kate Bissett's questions to the water company, the coroner now to put her concerns in writing and question United Utlities' reliance on third parties to alert them of defects and problems, as well as the fact it took "weeks" after the crash for the sunken fire hydrant to be repaired.

"The defect remained in the road and remained dangerous to road users and cyclists," she said. "I will put in writing the concerns that I have."

The coroner concluded that it was likely Robert Ingram's crash was caused by the defect, the 75-year-old, a "fit and keen cyclist", suffered a broken hip in the incident and died in hospital two weeks later having suffered a stroke and multiple pulmonary embolisms.

While coroner Ms Bissett decided there was insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion on a link between the crash and the stroke (which she said she felt was suffered some hours after the fall), she did suggest the incident and Mr Ingram's previous health issues may have "drained his physical reserves".

The cyclist hit the sunken fire hydrant on Cowling Brow in Chorley on 14 August 2024. The hydrant in question is pictured in the Google Maps image illustrating this article from September 2022, and the Lancashire Post photographed it after the incident, with tarmac now smoothing out the sunken defect.

Riders using the route in the direction Mr Ingram did would approach the hydrant off a descent, the now-repaired defect close to the edge of the road.

[The fire hydrant pictured on the right side of this image in September 2022, two years prior to Mr Ingram's crash] 

After the crash the cyclist was taken to Royal Preston Hospital, but was able to tell passers-by and paramedics that he had fallen off his bike after he hit the fire hydrant. Apart from a hip injury, later diagnosed as a break, his condition seemed coherent and fine.

It was the next day that staff began to have concerns that Mr Ingram's speech was slurred and his condition deteriorated. He was treated in the intensive care unit and tests showed he had suffered a stroke and multiple pulmonary embolisms. He died on August 30, a little over two weeks after the crash.

His bike was found free from defects and a witness who was around 50 yards behind Mr Ingram reported seeing him wobble and fall off, the cyclist then telling her he had hit a pothole.

Police investigators came to the opinion that the sunken fire hydrant would have been enough to cause a cyclist to lose balance if they hit it, although the inquest also heard that the council inspected the route every three months (including a walking inspection by two inspectors on July 12, one month before the incident) and no concerns were raised.

Robert Wilson, Lancashire County Council highways manager, suggested that the route's high HGV traffic may have meant the defect was caused in the weeks after inspection. However, when they were notified of it the day after the crash, it was not classed as a serious defect as it had not sunk more than 100mm.

United Utilities' head of operational services, Andrew Cunliffe, told the inquest there was no defect reported prior to the crash and that the hydrants, of which there are more than 100,000 in the North West, are inspected by the fire brigade and the company is also notified of issues by the county council and the public.

The coroner said she would be writing to the company to raise concerns about how issues are managed and to question its reliance on third parties to report issues.

Ms Bissett also questioned why it took "weeks" for the defect to be repaired while, in the meantime, it "remained in the road and remained dangerous to road users and cyclists".

Mr Cunliffe told the inquest the repair work was carried out on September 15, one month after the crash, but would have been deemed more urgent if United Utilities had been aware a fatality occurred.

He also confirmed the water company was made aware of the issue the day after the crash, a temporary repair made on September 9. The full repair was due to be made on September 10, however parked cars prevented the team from carrying out the works.

In October 2023, Ms Bissett presided over a similar inquest at Preston Coroner's Court, the coroner criticising Lancashire County Council after a massive pothole that killed an 84-year-old cyclist was missed because the "primary focus" was to identify "dangers to cars", not bikes.

Ms Bissett accused the local authority of "defying logic" by claiming that the giant crack – visible on Google Maps since 2009 – must have closed "on its own" prior to an inspection months before Harry Colledge's death.

A council officer conceded the enormous crack was missed during their inspection as "dangers to cars" was the "primary focus".

At the time of Mr Colledge's death, Cycling UK's Keir Gallagher said that the tragic incident highlighted the serious threat posed by potholes and road defects to cyclists, arguing that "our crumbling roads… are deterring many from taking up cycling".

"Popping out for some exercise in the countryside shouldn't be a high-risk activity: it's time for the government to get serious about the risk potholes pose, and to ensure local authorities have long-term funding to properly fix and maintain the local roads," he said.