Humps blamed over rise in repairs

Motorists in Kidderminster are getting the hump because of damage caused to their cars by traffic-calming measures, it has been claimed.

Repairs are said to have risen "massively" in the past year.

Workers at the HiQ fast fit centre in Comberton Hill say they are fixing dozens of snapped coiled springs each month, which threaten to puncture tyres, "pull" cars to one side of the road and fail MOT tests if left unfixed.

The centre is fixing up to 10 broken coil springs, fitted to car suspension systems, each week.

HiQ's marketing manager Geraldine McGovern said: "We are seeing far more cases of snapped springs, and I put the problem down to speed humps and poor road conditions. The implications of this are huge.

"A snapped spring can puncture a tyre wall and, if a motorist is travelling at 70mph along the M5 when this happens, then they are put in extreme danger.

"Cases are certainly up massively compared to year ago. And they are affecting all makes of cars, predominantly second generation models over three-years-old."

Worcestershire County Council spokesman Paul Whittaker said: "We have 12 traffic-calming schemes around the Wyre Forest district, and there are about 200 speed bumps. We have not received any complaints about problems from speed humps, and there have been no compensation payouts."