Motorists have received more than £90,000 in insurance payouts in the last three years because of dangerous potholes on Kirklees roads.

Of the 755 claims made against Kirklees Council since January 2016, only 52 have resulted in a win for the claimant so far, each one paying out an average of £1,772. The number of successful claims paid in 2018 (15 up until December), is more than double the 2017 figure, when only seven claims were paid out for pothole-related damage. Additionally, the total number of claims (including unsuccessful ones) more than quadrupled, from 94 to 436. However, the total amount paid fell from £10,987 to £4,798.

That’s lower than in 2016, when the council received 225 different claims and a total of £76,358 was paid out.

The list included a payout of £2,811 after an incident in Cliffe Lane, Gomersal, while £9,475 was paid out after a vehicle was damaged on Brunswick Street, in Dewsbury.

A Council spokesperson said:  “The extreme weather conditions over the past winter has caused the roads to deteriorate at a faster rate. “Kirklees Council’s adopted road network receives scheduled inspections by trained inspectors. Defects are assessed and those which may pose a danger to users of the highway are scheduled for repair.

“There will be occasions when defects develop between scheduled inspections and we welcome reports of these defects and we ask that these are reported using the mapping facility on the Kirklees website. https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/report/ReportPotholesStart.aspx“

The authority pointed out that the FoI covered edge erosion, slips and trips that included personal injury claims and potentially costs.

A spokesperson for the AA said: “Pothole insurance claims peaked earlier in 2018, but have been falling for the last half of this year – so it appears councils have been getting the problem under control.”

Kirklees’s most expensive potholes

Location // Total paid // Number of claims

Milford Street // £17,747.14 // 1

Manchester Road, Slaithwaite // £17,660.16 // 1

Brunswick Street Dewsbury // £9,475.31 // 1

Cedar Drive, Chickenley // £7,576.74 // 1

Cross Road, Thornhill // £4,856.00 // 1

Croftlands, Newsome // £4,459.50 // 2

Ridgeway Close, Dalton // £3,419.98 // 1

Low road, Dewsbury // £3,371.00 // 1

Lockwood Scar, Lockwood // £2,962.00 // 1

Cliffe Lane, Gomersal // £2,811.21 // 1