UK has "pothole epidemic"

Britain is in the grip of a "pothole epidemic" after research showed that there is an average of one pothole for every mile of the UK's road network.

 

That equates to a whopping 200,000 car-damaging holes around the country – an issue that is causing huge costs to both motorists and local councils.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that a total of £2.5 million was paid out in the last financial year in compensation to motorists, with the number of claims having soared 79 per cent to 32,600 in 2012/13.

That figure – enough to pay for the repair of 50,000 potholes – has been used to cover the cost of repair of everything from punctured tyres and dinged alloys to damaged suspension.

A lack of spending on road maintenance by councils is proving to be a false economy, with the average repair bill for pothole damage coming to £140 – nearly three times the £50 it costs on average to simply fill a hole.

King Lane in Leeds and the B6273 South Moor Road in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, were highlighted by the research as some of the worst roads for potholes in the whole country.

Local authorities face difficult choices in the roads they prioritise for repair and there are now round 200,000 potholes on UK roads. Motorists should protect themselves and their vehicles by reducing their speed on potholed roads, and also reporting damaged roads to their local council.