How one pothole cost £1.8million

MORE than £1.8million of taxpayers’ money was paid out in a single pothole compensation claim, it has been revealed.

The whopping £1,836,000 was paid out by Somerset County Council for ‘general damages’ following an accident involving a pothole.

The pay out, revealed by a Freedom of Information request, was one of 31 compensation payments totalling £2,137,167 awarded by the council in the last financial year. Reasons for the payouts included damage caused by potholes, drains and road erosion.

No details of the claim that led to the massive pay out have been released, but it is likely to have been so large because the pothole contributed to causing a serious injury that will require expensive ongoing care.

The council said it could not go into further detail due to legal reasons. It followed payouts totalling £895,716 in 2015-16 – of which 13 were related to poor road conditions – and £171,425 in 2014-15, with 15 related to roads.

Last night the TaxPayers’ Alliance said the size of the ‘enormous’ pothole claim shows the ‘high levels of waste and inefficiency across councils’.

A study by the RAC Foundation last year found that a claim involving a pothole was made every 17 minutes across England, Scotland and Wales.