Hertfordshire County Council pays just 3% of pothole claims

Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) released the figures after a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Watford Observer.

Between January 1 and March 12 this year, the council received 760 claim applications that came to £143,485. Of these, only 24 have been paid out at a cost of £5,726.

HCC said some requests on the system are still open or pending.

The pothole that Mr Turner says damaged his tyres is on Prestwick Road, South Oxhey (Image: Carl Turner)

Carl Turner, who had spent £370 on two tyres when they were damaged by a pothole in Prestwick Road, South Oxhey, branded the figures “ludicrous”.

He said: “The number of applications show what the council should be spending on the roads.

“They only resurface small amounts of the road.

“When they repaired the first pothole on Prestwick Road they should have done the others, but they didn’t.”

A picture of Carl's damaged tyre. (Image: Carl Turner)

Mr Turner, whose tyres were damaged on New Year’s Eve, had his claim refused.

He said: “I did have the chance to appeal.

“But the problem was I had to get the tyres replaced on New Year’s Day, I didn’t have the option to go anywhere, the man couldn’t provide any receipts. It was all done by bank transfer.”

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Mr Turner said another of his tyres were damaged by a different pothole on the same road.

“It’s not worth putting in a claim. You need all this evidence, and they make you jump through so many hoops,” he added.

A spokesperson for HCC said all claims for damage caused by potholes are investigated.

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“We are only required to pay compensation where there is evidence that we are in breach of our legal duties, for example if we have failed to follow our own maintenance policies,” they said.

The spokesperson added: “We will not pay out on claims where we are not at fault, and as a result most claims we receive are rejected.

“We aim to determine claims within four weeks, but this may take a little longer following a period of bad weather.”