Councils have handed out £12million to fix cars damaged by potholes since 2012 and pay compensation to ninety motorists a week, shock report reveals
Local authorities had to pay out in 19,000 compensation claims in last four years - with 6,000 claims still pending
COUNCILS are handing compensation to almost NINETY motorists a week for damage caused by potholes, The Sun can reveal.
Payouts totalling £12million have been dished out to fix cars blighted by Britain’s bumpy roads since 2012.
Local authorities up and down the country have had to pay out in 19,000 compensation claims in the last four years - with another 6,000 still pending.
That means an eye watering £650 average payment for damage done by poorly maintained roads.
And the true cost of this “crazy economics” is likely to be far higher.
There are more than 18 million potholes on Britain’s creaking road network, despite Whitehall promises to spend an extra £1 billion filling them in by 2020.
The Local Government Association suggest there is a £12billion backlog of local road repairs that could take 14 years to fix.
Meanwhile potholes wreak havoc with with car’s suspension and tyres.
The massive payouts were revealed by hundreds of Freedom of Information requests to individual councils since 2012.
Critics demanded more be spent fixing Britain’s roads rather than the “crazy economics” of paying for damage done to cars.
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Jenny Randerson, Lib Dem transport spokesman hit out at the “lose-lose situation for everyone, motorists, councils and taxpayers.
“People have to fork out so much to drive a car, the least they should expect is their motor doesn't get ruined by the roads.”
She went on: “We are seeing millions shelled out by councils when they just need to fix our roads.
“This is a symptom of the hand to mouth approach we have to infrastructure investment we have in UK.”
Freedom of Information requests were made by the Lib Dems to 500 councils in England, Scotland and Wales.
From the 150 who responded, revealing 66,497 claims for pothole-damaged cars since 2012.
Of the 18,350 that were settled, town hall officials were forced to admit partial or full liability.
The compensation bill in the same period is £12,094,216 - meaning the average cost of each one runs to around £650.
Another 5,812 cases are still open.
And with only one third of councils replying, the true total is likely to be far higher.