Without a paddle

30th June 2010

I hit a very large pothole on Monday in West Berkshire (near Mortimer) and punctured two tires, and dented two alloy wheels beyond economical repair, doing somewhere in the region £500 of damage. Suffice to say I was furious, so I found this site and started to work on the collecting evidence.

I returned to the pot hole today to start feverishly gathering evidence like a severely annoyed CSI officer with a vendetta - only it had been filled; I couldn't measure the depth, the size or even see the exact outline of the hole, all of which were vast. I took some half-hearted pictures of the spot and newly laid tarmac next to a metre-rule and left.

The road had no warning signs and the truly enormous pot hole didn't even have a white outline councils like to put round them (quite how you're meant to see those at 60mph is beyond me).

To make matters worse when I hit the pothole I was returning from Glastonbury and had no charged electrical gadgets capable of taking pictures so I can't prove any of the above. I do however have 5 witnesses - 6 including the AA man who was nice enough to collect us.

What I would like to know is where does this leave me? I feel kind of helpless and without a paddle. I am also young and the cost of repairs took a large proportion of my monthly pay packet.

Replies (1)

Potholes.co.uk Expert     posted : 01/07/10 at 4:51 pm

Photographs of the offending pothole are handy, but not essential. The fact that it has been filled suggests that it had already been reported, so I suggest you start trying to find out when it was reported and how long it was before it was filled.

If it was reported and filled quite quickly, that avenue of your claim is a none starter and you might then want to start looking at their inspection regime. It's all in our step by step guide - enjoy!