You can report an emergency 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If the issue is an emergency and presents an immediate risk to public safety, phone: 01243 642105.
Your call will be answered by our Highways Customer Service Centre team between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Outside of these hours, your call will be transferred to our out-of-hours service.
The Highways Customer Service Centre team and the out-of-hours service will, where appropriate, arrange for the Highways team to attend the emergency within two hours of reporting.
Types of emergencies
Emergencies might include something that causes an obstruction or makes part of, or the entire road or pavement impassable, causing a significant risk to the public, for example:
- potholes
- road or footway collapse (sinkhole)
- landslide
- private or highway structure collapse (bridge, wall, fence, scaffold, hoarding)
- street furniture collapse (road signs)
- road traffic accidents resulting in debris, or spillages on the highway, such as:
- diesel or oil
- toxic or hazardous materials
- oil or paint
- large dead animals causing obstruction to the road (cattle, deer, horse)
- fallen tree, branch or lamp column
- missing or badly damaged manhole/gully covers (report minor damage online)
- unlit skips on the road during hours of darkness
- traffic signals (temporary or permanent) that are not working
- exposed electrical wires, such as a cover missing from a street light
- extensive flooding resulting in a road being impassable or if the flood presents a high risk of damage to property or public.
Burst pipes or water mains are dealt with by the appropriate water utility company:
Non-emergency reports
For non-emergency issues that do not present an immediate risk to public safety, you can report online.
Non-emergency reports are not monitored outside of Customer Service Centre opening hours, or during weekends and bank holidays.
A23, A27, M23 and M27 issues
Report issues and emergencies affecting trunk roads and motorways by contacting National Highways.