Devon and Cornwall see 'increasing vehicle damage from potholes'

Potholes are causing major problems for road users in Devon and Cornwall, local councillors say.

In Devon, county councillor Frank Letch said more central government money was needed to ensure the county's 8,000 miles (13,000km) of roads were safe.

In Cornwall, drivers have been asked to report potholes and have been reminded they can seek compensation for damage.

Potholes caused almost £500m worth of damage to vehicles across the UK last year, new figures show.

Mr Letch said Devon County Council had been given £6.66m from the government's savings on HS2 to help fund repairs, but added it was "not really much" given the amount of roads that needed repairing.

"The problem we have, apart from vehicle damage - and this is on A roads - not lanes, is where people are driving on the opposite side of the road to avoid the holes," he said.

"If you see a puddle, you ask if it is a puddle or if it's concealing a 5in-deep pothole."

He added he believed that funding to deal with such issues had to be "coming from central government, and then it's for the counties to get the priorities right".

Cornwall Council's cabinet member for transport, Richard Williams-Pears, said JCB machines were being deployed and could help repair half of potholes reported to the council within 24 hours.

However, the authority repaired 21,040 potholes in 2023 - about 3,600 fewer than the previous year.

Lostwithiel resident Rob Lowe said: "We've got a load of potholes, particularly down Bodmin Hill. It basically looks like meteor craters."

He added his partner had driven over a pothole on Prideaux Road, near St Blazey, and was now seeking compensation from the council.

New data from the AA shows that 2023 was the worst for car damage caused by potholes for five years.

Matt Thomas, an AA patrolman in Truro, said: "We're definitely seeing an increase in the amount of damage to vehicles recently, especially this year.

"We're seeing wheel and tyre damage, suspension damage, steering damage and not always do they become apparent," he explained.

Mr Williams-Pears described fixing potholes as "a massive job, it never ends".

He said he was encouraging drivers to report potholes via Cornwall Council's website and reminded them that they could put in a claim if their car was damaged by a pothole.

JCB repairs potholes for Cornwall Council and it recently launched the Pothole Pro, a one-man operated machine that the council said could do the job four times faster and for half the price of traditional repair methods.

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