A BIKER was shocked to discover his motorbike had fallen over because the road beneath it had collapsed.

James Wallace parked his 2006 Suzuki Bandit motorcycle on the road in Sunnyside Road, Barbourne, Worcester, while helping his mother move a piece of furniture. After 10 minutes he returned to the bike and found it had fallen over. He initially assumed it had been pushed over, but on closer inspection he discovered the road surface had collapsed in on itself causing more than £1,600 damage to his machine.

“At first I assumed a youth had pushed it over, what else could have happened? But upon lifting the bike I was horrified to find a two to three-inch hole in the tarmac where my bike stand had simply sunk,” said Mr Wallace, of Birchanger Green, Warndon Villages, Worcester. Mr Wallace contacted the transport and highways department of Worcestershire County Council, which is responsible for maintenance of Worcestershire’s roads.

They said reinstatement work had been carried out by Severn Trent Water in the area and he should refer his claim for compensation to them.

Mr Wallace, a company director, aged 35, said: “I cannot accept that the council are not responsible for providing a road surface that is safe for me to park my motorcycle on.

“I understand Severn Trent Water have carried out the work but surely as I pay road tax to the council it should be the council who compensate me and then they should pursue whoever they have allowed to work on their road themselves.

“I feel very let down by the council’s approach.” A spokesman for Worcestershire County Council said: “We're aware of the incident and understand the area concerned involves some reinstatement works carried out by Severn Trent Water. We are in contact with Severn Trent about this matter.”

Following the report from the council, Severn Trent Water sent an inspector to view the work. A spokesman said: “Our work to help prevent sewer flooding from affecting homes on Sunnyside Road was completed by our contractors, Morgan Sindall in Easter this year. We’ve spoken with Worcestershire County Council.

“We have sent an inspector to check the road surface and we’ll work with the council to make sure any defects are repaired. We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience this may be causing.”