Britain’s worst pothole hotspots revealed as drivers hit with £3.3bn repair nightmare – see where your area ranks

THE worst pothole hotspots in Britain have been revealed – and YOUR area could be among them. Brits are paying a whopping £3.3billion in pothole repairs each year, according to a new study by Censuswide for Close Brothers Motor Finance. The AA says it deals with around 1,681 pothole-related incidents per day Credit: Getty The RAC says there are around one million potholes in the UK – and if you’re unlucky enough to hit one, you could face an average repair cost of £341. That’s because potholes can damage your suspension, misalign your tracking or even blow your tyres. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! The West Midlands is the biggest culprit for potholes, with 33% of drivers claiming their vehicle was damaged by a pothole in the last year. The average cost to fix the damage was £350. Meanwhile 26% of drivers in the North East said they’d experienced pothole damage, with average repairs costing £325 in the region. Just below that were the North West and Wales, which both had 25% of drivers complaining of pothole incidents. Damage repairs cost around £362 in the North West but just £238 in Wales. The most expensive region is Greater London, where repair bills are a huge £512. Most read in Money Some 24% of drivers there claim to have been affected. Scotland was the area with the least amount of drivers reporting pothole damage, at just 13%. It’s also relatively cheap for repairs there, with the average cost at £257. John Cassidy, managing director at Close Brothers Motor Finance, said: “The state of Britain’s roads has escalated from a minor driving inconvenience into a multibillion-pound crisis that is hitting motorists directly in the pocket… “At a time when drivers are already navigating high insurance premiums, running costs, and a broader cost-of-living crisis, we hope the government will continue to support motorists and properly equip local councils to fix this worsening issue.” Last year, the AA dealt with 613,638 pothole-related callouts. That’s an average of 1,681 per day. How YOU can claim compensation if your vehicle has been damaged by a pothole A POTHOLE is a road defect that can cause immediate risk or hazard to your car and usually needs to be at least 4cm deep. If your car or van has been damaged by a pothole and you think the local authority is at fault you can claim compensation to help cover the cost of repairs. But you need to prove that it was the road defect that actually caused damage to your car. You can ask your mechanic to put this in writing for you, if this is the case. If your vehicle already had a problem, and the pothole made it worse, you can still claim but will likely not get the full repair costs back. Before you make your claim you should also gather evidence of the damage and the pothole. This can be done by taking pictures of the incident and your damaged vehicle. When you are ready to make a claim you should also ensure you are reporting it to the correct council. You can check out Money Saving Expert’s full list of who’s in charge of what or you can contact the National Highways for help. The relevant council or other authority should have a document that you can fill in. How much you can recieve in compensation can vary depending on the damage caused. If you make a claim and you think it was unfairly rejected you can you can get legal advice or make a case through the courts. Meanwhile, if you have comprehensive car insurance, you can claim for pothole damage on your insurance. But it’s worth considering the cost of the damage, your excess payments and if the claim will affect your no claims bonus. This is a benefit that rewards careful drivers with a discount on their car insurance for each year they don’t make a claim, building up to a significant saving on premiums. However if can be lost if you make a claim. Comment now