BURY Council paid out more than £200,000 in compensation last year after claims were made against them for damage and injury caused by potholes.

In total, £217,922.15 of taxpayers' money has been paid out to cover the cost of claims made by motorists between January 1, 2018, and October 17, 2019, new figures reveal.

It was the second highest payout made by 70 councils across England who were sent FOI requests by car leasing firm LeaseCar.uk.

A total of 621 compensation claims were made against Bury Council during the period, by motorists who have suffered damage to their car or personal injury, according to researchers from

The data was released yesterday to coincide with National Pothole Day, which sees fed up drivers protesting at the state of the nation's roads.

A spokesman for LeaseCar.uk said: "Potholes aren’t just ugly and inconvenient — they regularly cause damage to vehicles and can be dangerous.

“We understand that many local authorities are strapped for cash and have to tighten their belts, but as motoring specialists we believe road maintenance should be a higher priority than it currently is.

“Taking greater steps to repair and prevent potholes would improve safety for road users and be popular among the voters across the country that councillors are accountable to.

“It could also ultimately reduce councils’ costs by bringing down the number of successful compensation claims by long suffering vehicle owners.

“We’d advise any driver who drives over a significant pothole, or is worried their vehicle may have been damaged, to urgently check their tyres and suspension.”

Potholes are caused by water that seeps into tarmac and then expands as temperatures drop below freezing during the winter, cracking the road surface.

Driving over one can jolt and damage a vehicle’s suspension, affect the condition of wheels and in extreme cases even puncture or burst tyres.

A total of 37,578 relevant claims were made across England during the period in question, with poorly maintained roads meaning councils compensated motorists to the tune of £3,520,538.38 in total.

Potholes can be reported via Bury Council's website.

A council spokesman said: "We have invested considerable sums of money in improving the borough’s roads – an extra £10million in highway maintenance between 2017/18 and 19/20, with a further extra £10million investment to come between 20/21 and 22/23.

“The first tranche has enabled us to resurface more than 11km of highways and repair thousands of potholes throughout the borough.

“This is already being borne out by the figures you cite. In 2018 we received 502 compensation claims, while in 2019 (to October) we received just 119.

“We fully expect this positive downward trend to continue as we invest more money into the borough’s roads.”