The wife of a man killed after his motorcycle hit a sunken manhole is suing the highways authority responsible for the road.

Karen Packham has accused East Sussex County Council and its contractor, Colas, of failing to maintain the road and claims her husband Giovanni would still be alive if it had been properly repaired.

Mr Packham was killed instantly when his motor-cycle crashed after hitting the manhole two years ago today.

Two weeks before, fellow motorcyclist Leslie Bolton, 39, died after hitting the same manhole in Marley Lane, Battle.

Mrs Packham said: "I'm not after sympathy - I just want justice.

"At the end of the day, he should still be here.

"The company was supposed to repair the road but it had actually worsened. The other guy had died there in exactly the same way.

"I always wanted to take action as soon as I got my head round what happened.

"I knew that someone would have to be accountable."

Mr Bolton, of Braybrooke Road, St Leonards, died on June 26, 2002, as he travelled to a friend's house in Robertsbridge.

On July 14, 2002, Mr Packham, riding an Aprilia motorcycle, died when he lost control after riding over the manhole and struck a coach head-on.

Inquests into both men's deaths heard that although the 4cm dip was repaired, it later became worse and sank a further 1cm.

Mrs Packham, 39, of Graham Avenue, Patcham, Brighton, said her two children, Joshua, 14, and Mercedes, 11, had been "very, very strong".

She added: "I have lost a business as well as a husband, partner and the father to my two children.

"We ran a successful plumbing business. I carried on for nine months afterwards but I was on my own so it deteriorated.

"I haven't had a job since. I had previous jobs but I have lost that self-confidence that comes with thinking you can do anything."

She said her husband would have supported her claim for compensation.

"I know my husband would be saying 'Go for it' and I keep that in mind all the time.

"He worked very, very hard and he was a larger-than-life person.

"Everyone liked him. At the funeral, the church wasn't big enough.

"It's such a loss and he is missed by a lot of people.

"It's not about the money - the compensation is secondary.

"It's about justice. But of course I worry about the welfare of my children.

"I know it's going to be difficult. It's certainly not a foregone conclusion."

An East Sussex County Council spokeswoman said: "Mrs Packham's legal advisers are in contact with the county council's legal advisers.

"It would not be appropriate to comment any further at this time."