LESS than two percent of claims made by drivers for pothole damage resulted in pay-outs from Essex County Council last year.

Following a Freedom of Information request submitted to Essex Highways, data released by the Essex County Council showed out of the 1,306 claims made by road users for vehicle damage resulting from potholes, only 16 were successful.

It means 1.22 per cent of claimants actually received money after damage was caused to their vehicles by road defects.

When the figures were put to Maryam Yaqub, labour group leader at Basildon Council, who vowed to tackle the issue when she became leader, said she wasn’t actually surprised by Essex County Council’s actions.

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She said: “I have had many residents complain to me about the damage that potholes have caused their cars.

“I am not at all surprised that only 1 per cent of claims actually get paid.

“Essex County Council have sent a clear message to residents; they simply don’t care about the impact potholes have on people’s everyday life.

“This is why we want to be a unitary authority.

“Residents are tired of being told that the potholes on our roads aren’t serious enough to be repaired and when they cause damage to their cars, they can’t even be compensated for it fairly.”

The Freedom of Information request also revealed the total amount of money paid out by Essex Highways in 2021 to successful claimants amounted to £13,152.65, which is an average of £822 per claimant.

Kerry Smith, a councillor who has raised the issues of potholes in Basildon a number of times, added: “It is shocking.

“But the thing is, Essex County Council always make sure they put more effort into protecting themselves, than fixing the highway faults, it is all about everting financial risk, rather than providing taxpayers what they pay for.

“I am sure many of the unsuccessful claimants would’ve been in Basildon, and like I say there is more effort into people cannot sue them for damage to their car, than actually outing the effort into fixing the roads.

“We wouldn’t have this issue otherwise.”