Should councils be forced to repair potholes?

Some local authorities make use of 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 my local council it is not liable for damage to vehicles from potholes it does not know about. I logged the holes online but 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. FOR years councils skimped on road maintenance and now, after a rough winter, we are facing the results. Many roads have seen their surface break up and there are potholes so deep as to be downright dangerous. Bill Wilson, irvine, Ayrshire. TYRE fitters will be carrying Transport Minister Humza Yousaf on their shoulders if this keeps up – is there a driver in the land who hasn’t had a burst tyre or buckled rim or bent suspension on our potholed roads? HAzel glover, Aberdeen. 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. AS a GPO engineer I would walk a repaired route to ensure the work had been carried out properly. After privatisation, this was deemed to be too costly. Contractors cut corners and today’s lorries are a lot heavier – 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.