Councils payout lb3.1million annually because of potholes – here's how you can claim

FED-UP motorists reported several MILLION potholes this past year.

And councils across the nation forked-out a lot more than lb3million to compensate drivers who had their vehicle damaged because of hitting one.

That's the findings from Confused.com, that has revealed the extent from the UK pothole problem – should you added up the depth of all of the holes it would be 25 miles (40 kilometres) deep.

That's 4 times deeper compared to deepest part of the Gulf of mexico.

Poorly-maintained roads have become an increasing sore-point for drivers recently.

Yesterday The sun's rays Online reported the slashing of road budgets has sparked a 35 per cent slump in repairs.

The comparison site found another of drivers – 33 per cent – had their car damaged this past year, most abundant in common damage caused to motorists' tyres (64 per cent), followed by supsension (42 per cent).

In all, councils spent lb104million repairing potholes in 2021 in an average price of lb245 per hole.

The majority (52 per cent) think that's money well spent – but 69 percent think councils must do more to tackle the problem.

Wiltshire paid the most in compensation.

It paid lb507,000 to drivers in 2021, followed by Surrey (lb343,000), Cardiff (lb288,000) and Hampshire (lb152,000).

Amanda Stretton of Confused.com said: "Scrolling to depths of 40km really puts the UK's pothole problem into perspective.

"They are a significant bugbear among drivers, most famously because of the damage they do to our vehicles – around lb3.A million price of damage.

"If drivers experience a bump in the road, they should report it to their local council as soon as possible prior to the problem gets any worse.

"The price of motoring alone gets more and more expensive and damage repairs is a big cause of this, as car parts rise in price as well."

What are you able to do if you're a pothole victim?

The authorities have a legal responsibility to maintain roads to a safe standard – if your vehicle's been damaged with a pothole then you'll cover the cost of claims to cover the cost of repair.

According to MoneySavingExpert, typical costs for repairs can range between lb300 to lb500.

If you are able to, take pictures of the damage and also the pothole straight away – and ensure you know its exact place so you can prove it happened.

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You'll probably get the repairs carried out before you submit your claim so keep a copy of your bill.

Who you are making a claim to depends on which kind of road you hit the pothole on.

For motorways and major A-roads you'll have to contact Highways England (different bodies apply in Scotland and Wales).

Once you contact the authority, it'll send you an application that you simply should fill-in outlining what went down.

You'll obtain a response, often within a little while, and likely a refusal to pay under Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980.

This is really a defence that says all reasonable steps to maintain the road were taken, and all potholes were handled on time.

Once this occurs, you'll need to determine whether its fulfilled its obligations by asking questions about the scheduling and excellence of inspections and repairs on the road.

If you believe you've got a case write again outlining your findings.

Even if you don't want to make claims, you need to still report it towards the correct authority so it can fill it in.

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