UK Heatwave: Road in Cannock turns to molten tar and sticks to tyres and flip flops

Shocking footage shows tyres coated in sticky tarmac from a residential road in Cannock, Staffordshire. 

The town sizzled as temperatures soared to more than 30C (86F) over the weekend. 

Flip flips became 'glued' to road

One woman was almost hit by a car when her flip flops became glued to the sizzling highway. 

Fuming residents living in Gorsemoor Road say the molten road surface caused costly damage to their cars and driveways. 

Range Rover coated in 'molten tarmac'

The council's highways department closed the road completely on Friday and Saturday as a precaution to protect residents.

Postman Roger Wain, 49, said a neighbour's Range Rover had been coated in molten tarmac as the weather reached highs of 31C (87.8F).

Sizzling road suck to tyres

The dad-of-one said: “It’s obviously changed the road surface and the look and that’s partly down to the weather. 

"It's ripped parts of the road up. They resurfaced it four or five weeks ago, whether it wasn’t done properly or whether it was a combination of the heat and a shoddy job.

“I’ve been lucky and kept out the way but a few people have had it stick to their tyres.

Temperature reached 31C

“One of the neighbours said a resident a few doors down came back with a Range Rover and it all stuck to the tyres and well they pulled up all the tarmac had gone all over their drive and ruined the wheels and driveway. 

“It’s been around 30 degrees the past few days, so it sort of crescendoed at about 31C on Saturday."

Peter Mason, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for strategic highways, said: "We took the decision to temporarily close Gorsemoor Road in Cannock at the weekend after we were made aware that the heat was affecting the condition of the road surface. 

"This is not unusual during a heatwave, as a sunny day in the 20Cs can be enough to generate 50C on road surfaces. Before we closed the road, we had already sent gritters to site both on Friday and Saturday to treat it with granite dust. The treatment did its job as the bitumen bleeding did not occur during yesterday's heat and, as a result, we were able to lift the road closure on Monday morning. 

“Any work carried out on our highway network needs to meet our design and quality standards and, on this occasion, the surface treatment did not perform. We will work with our contractor to arrange for the necessary repairs to take place at no expense to the taxpayer.”

Neighbour Marc Edwards, 44, said: "When you drive on the road you're literally ripping up great big chunks of tar and when you put the car onto the drive, it's bringing all the tar onto the drives and it's just spreading all over them. 

£300 to repair tar-coated tyres

"It's wrecking loads of people's drives all up and down the street, and it's hardening on the tyres overnight. We thought pot holes were bad but this is ridiculous."

One driver has been quoted £300 to repair her tyres, which are coated in tarmac and stones. 

Emergency stop after flip flop stuck to road

MP Josh Newbury, who represents Cannock Chase, said: “A lady was crossing the street and her flip flop got stuck in the tar and it almost came off. 

"It caused her to trip. A car had to do an emergency stop to not hit her.  

“It just shows it's not just motorists at risk, it's also pedestrians." 

Shaun Dennis only uses his car early in the morning or late at night when the roads will be their coolest. 

He said: "Motorways don't melt, roads in Spain don't melt, certain roads that you drive on in this temperature aren't melting. 

"So there's obviously something fundamental about the work that's been done here." 

Soaring temperatures

Peter Mason, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Highways, said: “We took the decision to temporarily close Gorsemoor Road in Cannock at the weekend after we were made aware that the heat was affecting the condition of the road surface.

"This is not unusual during a heatwave, as a sunny day in the 20Cs can be enough to generate 50C on road surfaces. Before we closed the road, we had already sent gritters to site both on Friday and Saturday to treat it with granite dust. 

"The treatment did its job as the bitumen bleeding did not occur during yesterday's heat and, as a result, we were able to lift the road closure this morning. 

“Any work carried out on our highway network needs to meet our design and quality standards and, on this occasion, the surface treatment did not perform. We will work with our contractor to arrange for the necessary repairs to take place at no expense to the taxpayer.”

Gritters normally used to melt icy roads in the winter have been deployed around the county to cool the road surfaces. 

The vehicles spread granite dust onto the tarmac which helps absorb the softened bitumen and improves grip for motorists.