Pothole compensation claims in Devon top £1million in eight months

Potholes have caused more than £1million in alleged damage to cars in Devon in just eight months of this financial year alone, new figures have revealed.

Devon County Council has been hit with 966 claims for damages since April, totalling £1.1m, but despite that being more than £1,000 per claim, so far the council has only paid out around £48,000.

The figures were obtained by Crediton Councillor Frank Letch, who was looking for information on the number of potholes the county is dealing with.

He said the figures showed 28,801 reports of potholes have been made by the public in this financial year alone and that the council had identified 1,505 potholes for repair.

Multiple reports could relate to the same pothole, which partly explains the discrepancy between the reported figures and the repair work list.

In the previous financial year, 1,229 claims were made by drivers, amounting to £855,000. So far, just £35,000 has been paid out from those.

Not every claim will result in a payout. For a claim against Devon County Council to be successful, drivers have to show loss or damage was caused as a result of the council’s negligence, meaning it is not automatically liable for damage caused to vehicles using roads it oversees.

On its website page about such claims, the council states it has insurance, but “any successful claims under £250,000 have to be paid from our own funds which would otherwise go towards providing services.

It added: “Devon County Council has a system of inspection in place that allows many of the insurance claims we receive to be defended.”

The damage claim figures come shortly after Devon announced more than 65 road repair projects that it would prioritise with £6.6m in extra funding it has received from the government.

The money became available after the government scrapped the Manchester extension to the HS2 rail service.

Devon has the largest road network of any local authority, spanning around 8,000 miles.