IN DEEP DOO DOO
Shocking scale of potholes on Scottish roads
MORE than 111,000 potholes on Scots roads were reported last year.
Price comparison website Confused.com has discovered that the total depth of the craters was 4432m – more than 25 times the depth of the English Channel or the height of 2955 cars stacked up.
Fife was the potholes blackspot, with 21,920 reported. They stretched to a depth of almost 1km.
Confused.com said there were 111,261 potholes reported in 2017-18.
It added that Scots councils forked out £272,000 in compensation to drivers for pothole damage to their vehicles, on top of the £18million paid out to repair roads across the country.
Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, said: “The number of potholes reported in the UK has increased by two per cent in the last year and it’s a battle councils continue to fight.
“If motorists come across a pothole, they should report it to their local authority before it gets any worse.”
She added: “Re-claiming the costs for pothole damage can be confusing for drivers. Many don’t know if it’s best to claim from your insurer or from the council.
“To help clear this confusion, drivers looking to claim for pothole damage can find all of the information they need to start the process in our guide.”
The financial services giant used Freedom of Information data from local councils to reveal the scale of the problem. In Scotland, 26 of the 32 local authorities responded to their request for information.
Angus and Shetland Islands councils said they did not hold the information while Dumfries and Galloway, West Dunbartonshire, Edinburgh and North Ayrshire councils failed to respond at all.
Glasgow came after Fife in the pothole league of shame, with 20,172. East Renfrewshire notched up 13,470, Perth and Kinross had 11,174 and there were 5953 reported in East Ayrshire.
For more info, go to https://www. confused.com/car-insurance/truedepth-of-uk-pothole-problem/scotland