Potholes causing 'nightmares' for blood bikers

A blood bike charity said it suffered a delay to one of its deliveries and was facing a repair bill of almost £900 after a bike hit a pothole.

Warwickshire and Solihull Blood Bikes deliver blood and other urgent provisions including breast milk and medical equipment on behalf of the NHS.

They reported that one of their riders hit a pothole while out in the rain on Wednesday night in Birmingham, causing a tyre to buckle and deflate.

It meant the rider was unable to complete the job, resulting in another vehicle needing to pick up the blood and breast milk that was being transported.

A blood drop-off had already been made to Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham when the pothole was struck, creating a delay of about 45 minutes to the planned onward journey to Solihull for a further blood delivery and Coventry University Hospital for breast milk.

Furthermore, the rider had to wait for a recovery vehicle and did not get back to base until 05:30 GMT.

Jonathan Smith, fleet manager, said potholes were a hazard for their riders, as during rainy conditions at night, damaged road could look like a flat, solid surface.

He added: "It happens to the best of riders, it's one of the hazards of motorcycles.

"The problem is, you can avoid what you can, but if they're not visible, you can't avoid it."

Only three weeks before Wednesday's event, another of the group's bikes hit a pothole, he said.

"It's a bit of a nightmare scenario, especially when you're carrying blood and milk," Mr Smith explained.

"We know the hospital in Coventry was fairly desperate for the milk."

The group is completely run by volunteers, transporting urgent medical supplies on behalf of the NHS.

On Christmas Day, they will be taking dinners into a hospital which has no access to transportation on the day.

Many journeys take place as relays with neighbouring blood bike groups, so riders can stay in their respective areas, but the Warwickshire and Solihull group took an urgent sample to Liverpool on Saturday night, as the Merseyside riders had to postpone their services due to severe weather warnings.

With urgent transportations and last-minute changes, having a bike out of action could have a big impact, the group warned.

"We don't know how busy we'll be one minute to another," Mr Smith stated.

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