Hampshire, Surrey and Essex received the most claims for pothole compensation from motorists last year according to data released by the RAC Foundation yesterday.

Out of 1760 claims in Hampshire nearly half were successful and more than £285,000 was paid out to drivers. In second place was Surrey with 1395 claims, of which 28% were successful, and third was Essex with 1359 claims, of which only 5% were successful.

Overall nearly 29,000 drivers made claims against councils in Great Britain for damage caused to their vehicles by potholes. This figure was down markedly on the previous financial year when drivers made nearly 49,000 claims.

The number of successful claims across the country fell from over 11,000 in 2013/14 to around 6800 last year. Value of successful claims fell from £3.2M to around £2M – which is less than half the figure paid out compared to two years ago.

“One reading of these figures could be that local roads are in better condition than they were. But that does not square with councils' own assessment that the road maintenance backlog is actually growing, not falling,” said RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding.

“It could instead be that many drivers are put off by the time involved in claiming against a council. But nearly 29,000 claims in one year is still a huge number – three an hour, every day of the year.”

Photo courtesy of Asphalt Industry Alliance