A LARGE pothole along the A343 in Basingstoke has left a number of drivers horrified and with damaged cars. 

Sam Jackson, 57, was driving back from Andover along the road on January 17 at roughly 9pm when his car was 'lifted off the ground' by a pothole and he lost control.

He said that he had never felt such a big impact from a pothole before and struggled to regain control of his car. 

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Due to the damage caused to his BMW Sam had to pay £80, which he aims to claim back from Hampshire County Council (HCC).

Sam said a local resident had been out to measure the huge pothole.

He said: "I know the council is under a lot of pressure, but everyone is. It just isn’t an excuse for potholes enabling so much danger, that pothole was in a league of its own. Seven metres long and I’ve never seen one quite like it before.

"When I pulled my car over to the side of the road I saw other cars who were also at the side of the road that had their cars damaged from this pothole, there must have been at least seven cars all there at once. It's just disgraceful."

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A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council says: "We can confirm that work was carried out on the pothole on the A343, near the Pheasant pub, on 18 January in order for the road to be used safely, until further road repairs along this stretch of the A343 can be completed.

"This more substantial programme of work is planned for later this year."