Pothole causes damage to car (From Salisbury Journal)

Pothole causes damage to car

7:00am Thursday 14th February 2013 in Letters

I WRITE with reference to the letter from Miss L Strong (Postbag, January 31) about potholes.

I too hit a pothole on the road from Ford to Old Castle Road, at the end of November on a dark rainy evening.

I too completed a claim form, and I too was told that as the council had met its statutory requirement of inspecting the road four times a year, the last being in September, and had filled in the hole once the complaint had been received, I did not have a valid claim against them.

The pothole that I hit was of such a size that the whole of my wheel went into it, actually damaging the inside of the wheel rim itself, giving me the large expense of £200 for a new wheel and tyre, which I could ill afford.

I agree with Miss Strong that a pothole doesn’t appear overnight and that shoddy workmanship must have preceded.

If a motorcyclist or cyclist had hit the same hole as I did, they would most certainly have suffered physical injuries.

How is it allowed that because the council inspected the road at least two months before my incident, it is not liable for the poor state of the road?

I pay my council tax and income tax, and if I caused someone else expense because of something I was responsible for, I would be sued – one rule for them and one for us?

S MCNICOL, Amesbury