Fury as skinflint councils reject up to 96% of pothole compo claims despite responsibility to repair roads

DRIVERS are paying the price for Britain’s crumbling roads as skinflint councils reject up to 96 per cent of pothole compensation claims.

Nearly half of the 1,552 who lodged a claim for damage to their vehicles suffered on England’s major roads received a payout from National Highways last year.

But on local roads, councils are dodging responsibility, some rejecting more than nine in ten applications.

The AA’s Luke Bosdet said of National Highways: “A road authority that takes responsibility for the condition of its roads and doesn’t wriggle out of it is hugely refreshing, unlike so many councils.

“Driving to somewhere in one piece should not be a matter of pothole luck.”

In Essex only four per cent of pothole claims — 283 out of 7,036 — were successful over the past four years.

Meanwhile, in Kent, 92 per cent of drivers were rejected.

The county council received 2,508 pothole- related claims between January 2023 and February 2024 but only 190 were accepted.

The cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch has been estimated at £16.3billion.

This year’s local road funding is being boosted by £500million, rising to nearly £1.6billion, but a quarter will be withheld until councils prove they are using the cash effectively.

Shadow transport minister Gareth Bacon said: “Labour needs to get to grips with it.”

Essex Highways said last night that all claims are “investigated fully in line with legal criteria”, adding “we invest millions into our road maintenance”.

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