Should councils be forced to repair potholes?

KENT county council is not the only local authority to use loopholes to escape paying compensation for pothole damage (Mail). I tried to claim three times for damage to my tyres, at a cost of £150 each, only to be told by Suffolk county council it is not liable for damage to vehicles from potholes it does not know about. I logged the potholes online. I was told that as no one else had logged them, the council was still not liable! RICHARD BLACKWELL, Mildenhall, Suffolk. THE stretch of the A22 that runs through our village is a nightmare, with cars swerving to avoid potholes and lorries crashing over them. The council has repaired some of the potholes, but left others untouched as it claims that they are not ‘deep enough’. MICK TYLER, Forest Row, E. Sussex. MY COUNCIL won’t compensate me for a tyre ripped apart by a pothole that had been marked for repair for months. I supplied photos and a repair bill for £110, but the council says it is not its responsibility. The pothole, which was outside a school, was repaired the day after I submitted my claim. S. CATTERALL, Blackburn, Lancs. MY WIFE tripped on the edge of a pothole, injuring her face. I phoned the council at 10.45am to tell them and by 11.30am the hole was filled in. Is this a record? NORMAN PARRY, Silverdale, Lancs. I WAS a GPO engineer and after we dug up a road to do some work, I would walk the route with a Highways Inspector to ensure it had been repaired properly. After privatisation, this was deemed to be too time-consuming and expensive. Contractors cut corners and modern lorries are a lot heavier — 50 tonnes hitting a manhole cover at 40mph is a hammer blow. Councils need a multi-million-pound injection for proper, long-lasting road repairs. E. BLACKBURN, Wirral, Merseyside. I SPOTTED this sign on the back of a car: ‘I’m not drunk. I’m only trying to miss the potholes.’ DENNIS HERNAN, Stockport, Gtr Manchester.