Lancashire county council criticised for not fixing pothole blamed for cyclist’s death

Coroner says Harry Colledge, 84, would probably be alive if council had acted on warnings about 87-metre-long crack in the road

A council has been severely criticised by a coroner over the death of a cyclist who suffered fatal head injuries after hitting a pothole that had been visible on Google Street View for 14 years.

The Lancashire area coroner, Kate Bisset, concluded that Harry Colledge, 84, would probably not have died last January if Lancashire county council had acted on warnings to fix the 87-metre-long crack on Island Lane near the village of Winmarleigh.