Potholes damage sees £2.85m payout

Damage caused by potholes resulted in £2.85 million-worth of successful insurance claims being made by motorists last month.

Drivers made the equivalent of about 1,900 claims in February, AA Insurance said.

Claims generated by cars being damaged by potholes have increased by 600% over the past three years, as local authorities struggle to fix the country's network of roads - damage made worse by the recent severe wintry weather.

AA Insurance director Simon Douglas said: "Nationally, the damage to cars caused by potholes in February alone cost insurers around £2.85 million, the equivalent of about 1,900 claims.

"But that's just the tip of the iceberg because it takes serious damage to make it worth an insurance claim.

"Garages and tyre centres are dealing with countless thousands of punctured tyres, damaged tracking or broken springs which don't justify making a claim."

The Government should use the extra cash from increasing tax on fuel on April 1 to fix potholes, the firm said.

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