A Moray woman claims her car was badly damaged when she drove over a grate which collapsed while gas firm employees were working on a road.
Kat Reid, from Elgin, claims that SGN did not put up barriers around the site where they were working on School Brae before her Fiat Punto was damaged.
She said she took her car to a mechanic after the alleged incident on October 9 and was told that the vehicle could not be repaired.
She claims the road grate collapsed leaving one of her wheel bearings damaged along with the radiator and rear axle.
She said: “I am getting rid of my car because I don’t feel it is safe enough to drive which will badly affect me.
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“I’m a home carer and also have a disabled son so I need my car to get around but I can’t afford to just go out and buy a new one.
“SGN have told me to put it through my insurance even though it is not my fault which means I will lose my no claims bonus as they claim it was not their fault.
“It should have been safe in the first place and never should have happened.”
SGN organised for Ms Reid’s car to be taken to an independent garage to be checked over and concluded that any damage the car sustained was due to “wear and tear.”
However, Ms Reid disagrees with the decision, and said: “I’ve been left in the lurch as one mechanic is saying it is fine and the other is saying that it isn’t roadworthy so I’m not driving it just in case it isn’t.”
Katie Lobban, a spokeswoman for SGN, said: “In terms of signage, we had standard signs around our work area to alert motorists and pedestrians that work is taking place.
“The metal plates that are placed in the road are there to allow traffic to continue along the road as normal – there wouldn’t be any barriers in place as there were no road closures or restrictions to motorists.
“We’re aware of Ms Reid’s concerns and organised for her car to be taken to an independent garage to be checked over.
“On completion of this inspection, it was concluded that any current damage on the car is due to typical wear and tear of a car of that age.
“Our insurance team would be happy to liaise with Ms Reid to resolve this matter.”