A lorry sent to repair holes on a rural Somerset road was left stuck at a near 45-degree angle after the ground gave way beneath it. Contractors from Stabilised Pavements had been working on Butleigh Drove near Walton when the sinkhole opened and the workers abandoned the vehicle.

Somerset council said planned highway works were under way on Butleigh Moor Drove, also known as Butleigh Drove, near Walton, and that the road’s peat base had already suffered significant movement and rutting. The council said the lorry involved in the works is due to be recovered, after which the site will be assessed to determine the most appropriate approach to complete the repairs.

Richard Wilkins said council contractors had been working to fix damage caused by Storm Chandra in January and other weather events. He said the recent cycle of wet and freezing conditions had caused a sudden deterioration in many roads. Lucy Trimmell was blunter, saying the council’s approach to road repairs was like “trying to darn a pair of fishnet tights” and describing the road network as “rapidly deteriorating.”

The incident exposes the practical problem facing road crews in parts of Somerset where the surface itself can keep shifting. The council said issues of this nature can occasionally arise when works are carried out on peat, and that is now the immediate challenge on Butleigh Drove: recover the lorry, inspect the site and decide how the repairs can be finished without the road giving way again.

For now, the image of a repair lorry stranded in its own work site captures the scale of the problem more clearly than any briefing note could. Somerset’s roads are not just damaged; in places, they are moving under the people sent to fix them.