A DRIVER has been left with a �280 bill after his new car was splattered with cement-laden water in the town centre.

James King, of Alexandra Road, was angered by the incident, which happened at the Civic Drive roundabout.

Mr King said: “I was coming from Franciscan Way and I saw a load of people up ahead swerving to avoid something.

“The cement truck was parked on the left on the roundabout and there was a guy on top blasting out the cement with a hose and because of the angle, it was spraying out into the road.

“Because of the roadworks on the roundabout, there’s only one lane, so there’s nowhere to go and it splattered the car.”

Mr King wasn’t able to clean his car straight away, as he had to pick up his three-year-old son, Thomas.

Although the car wasn’t brand new, Mr King had only had it for two weeks.

When he went to get it cleaned the next day, he had to pay �280 to have the dried cement removed from the car and the cement left scratches in the bodywork.

“I’m quite conscientious about my car,” Mr King said. “But someone else might not bother to get it cleaned off and all the lime in that cement could completely wreck their paintwork. Also, if all of that gunk goes into the sewers, it could cause problems.”

The Civic Drive roadworks are being carried out by Skanska on behalf of the county council and the Travel Ipswich project.

A spokesperson for Skanska said: “When the incident happened, our subcontractor apologised to the gentlemen concerned, and offered to wash his car. We are taking steps to make sure that no similar incidents occur.”

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