A massive pothole wrecked my van and I’m over £1,000 out of pocket

Owning a vehicle means stumping up for repairs if it gets damaged — but when it happens through no fault of your own, it’s a bitter pill to swallow.

For this week’s Money Problem reader, Dave from Eastbourne, the cause of his mechanic visit was a huge pothole.

It’s made worse by the fact the 42-year-old electrician relies on his van for work, which he lost while it was in being fixed.

Wondering if he has any recourse to recover the cash, he reached out to Metro consumer champion, Sarah Davidson, for help.

The question…

Last week, I was driving to a job in East Sussex when I hit a massive pothole that was completely hidden by a puddle.

The impact was horrendous.

It has bent the wheel rim, blown the tyre and caused serious damage to the suspension and steering alignment.

My local garage has quoted me over £800 just for the repairs, but the bigger problem is that I can’t drive it safely until it’s fixed.

I’ve already had to cancel three days of work, which means I’m losing income on top of the repair bill.

I’ve reported it to the council, but everyone tells me they never pay out and it’s a waste of time trying to claim.

I am absolutely fuming that I pay my road tax and council tax, yet I’m the one footing the bill for their failure to maintain the roads.

Can I claim the repair costs back from the council, and what about the money I’m losing from not being able to work?

POLL

Should councils compensate drivers for damages caused by potholes?

• Yes, it's their responsibility to maintain safe roads.

• No, drivers should bear the costs of damage.

• Only in cases of severe negligence by the council.

The answer…

The condition of our roads is a national disgrace.

Almost two decades of austerity cuts to local council budgets, rampant inflation and inexcusable underfunding have left the country crumbling – quite literally.

I live out in the sticks so have to drive most days to get anywhere.

I’m genuinely and increasingly concerned I’ll be stopped by the police because of how often I have to swerve to avoid losing a wheel to a pothole.

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According to the Asphalt Industry Alliance, the backlog of pothole repairs on local roads in England and Wales has now reached a record £18.6 billion.

The AA reported attending over 613,000 pothole-related breakdowns last year and the RAC has seen compensation claims to councils soar by 90% over the past three years.

You asked if you can claim the repair costs back from the council; the short answer is yes, you can make a claim, but the longer answer is that it is not going to be easy.

Local authorities have a statutory duty under the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the roads and ensure they are safe.

However, they also have a very robust legal defence under Section 58 of the same Act, which allows them to reject a claim if they can prove they took ‘reasonable steps’ to maintain the highway.

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In practice, this means if the council can show they inspected the road according to their schedule and the pothole wasn’t there (or wasn’t deemed dangerous enough to fix) at the time, they are not legally liable for your damage.

Because of this defence, the success rate for claims is depressingly low.

RAC data shows that councils settled only 26% of the 53,000 claims submitted by drivers in 2024, while 172 councils refused more than 90%.

Despite the odds, it is still worth submitting a claim.

First, if it’s safe to do so, take clear photographs and use a tape measure to show the depth and width of the hole.

Also use What3words to pinpoint the exact location of the pothole and note the date and time you hit it plus weather conditions.

Take photos of the damage to your van and include the written estimate or invoice from your garage for the £800 repair.

You can include loss of earnings in your claim, but you must be able to prove your net financial loss.

Provide evidence of the jobs you had to cancel and your typical daily earnings, perhaps using previous invoices or tax returns.

You can only claim for the loss of profit, not the gross value of the cancelled jobs.

To make the claim, you need to contact the authority responsible for the road.

For you, this will probably be East Sussex County Council.

Their claim form is on the East Sussex Highways website.

If the council rejects it, ask for a copy of their road inspection reports.

If the reports show they failed to deal with the offending pothole in a reasonable timeframe, you may have grounds to challenge their decision.

It’s tortuous process and it can take more than 12 weeks just to get an initial assessment but at least you’re forcing the council to inspect the road and, you’d hope, fix it.

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.