The amount of money Cheshire East has paid out to settle compensation claims for vehicle damage caused by potholes has trebled in the past two years.
In 2012 the Council paid out £32,022.98 in compensation compared with £10,346.64 in 2010 and £11,380.35 in 2011.
The number of claims lodged against CEC, by motorists for damage to their vehicles caused by potholes on CEC highways, also rose sharply last year to 519, compared to 226 in 2011 and 353 in 2010.
Cheshire East Council accepted liability and settled 110 claims in 2012, compared with 45 in 2011 and 30 in 2010.
The number of claims which CEC denied liability for in 2012 was 343 and 66 claims from last year remain unsettled.
In 2011 CEC denied liability for 181 claims and in 2010 liability was denied for 323 claims.
These figures were obtained through a Freedom of Information request to Cheshire East Council.
In January 2013 Cheshire East Council's announced they will spend an extra £25 million over two years repairing roads across the borough.
Between April 2012 and January 2013 the Council repaired more than 46,000 potholes, at a cost of £1 million and announced their intention to fix another 42,000 by the end of this summer.
Potholes can be reported via Cheshire East Council's online fault reporting page at www.cheshireeasthighways.org/ReportIt or by phoning the highways team on 0300 123 5020.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
In brief, the Council is not under a duty to keep the roads in good condition, but rather to have a system of inspection and maintenance.
Claims of this sort are usually defeated because the Council can show that it has such a system and the system operated correctly for the relevant area.
So, if you bring such a claim, normally the Council will disclose to you the maintenance records for the site of your pothole and tell you to sod off - they have a good system.
This story does not necessarily tell us that the Council is not maintaining the roads well ( but we all know this to be the case ). The story tells us that the inspection system, or the documentation supporting the inspection system has begun to fall apart.
Since I'm sure I'm not the only person who has reported this crater (hardly a pothole), lets see how quickly it is repaired, shall we?