A motorist has been left ‘frustrated’ after his car tyre was damaged by a pothole and his claim against the council was dismissed.
Andrew Morgan, 56, who lives in Great Lever, was driving home on Weston Street towards Rishton Lane, in Great Lever when he realised he had gone over something.
It was only when he turned round the corner that he realised he had gone into a large pothole, and his tyre had “blown” and deflated.
Andrew says it ruined his New Year's Eve plans, and that he wants people to be aware of the possible difficulties when lodging a claim.
He said: “I turned left onto Rishton Lane when the (dashboard) lights came on. I tried to pump the tyre up, but it had a puncture and had blown. It deflated immediately.
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“I realised I had gone over something.
“It was not a small pothole.
“I was a little bit annoyed because it’s a new car, and shocked at first. Then the realisation that I had loads to do for New Year's Eve sunk in.”
Andrew says he had no choice but to get his tyre fixed at the garage due to work commitments, which cost him £120.
Soon after, Andrew placed a claim with the council to try and get reimbursed for the damage caused, but this was rejected on the basis that there was not any evidence to support it, and there were “no previous complaints about the defect” or anything discovered during the recent inspection or prior to his claim.
“No matter what claim, the council will never have to pay out because the council can prove they have a process and that they will conduct a check every three months.”
Andrew also returned to Western Street to put a cone in the pothole so that others could avoid this before it was recently fixed.
He added: “The fact I wasted between three to four hours to fill forms in is stressful.
“You can’t cost the time it took to sort this out and having to make other plans.
“The evidence I gave is irrefutable.
“I just want some fairness shown in this world for someone who works hard and contributes to society.”
They explained that they are able to provide a special defence under Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980 “for claims from third parties for damages resulting from failure to maintain the highway, provided there is an efficient and effective highway inspection regime”.
Bolton Council also said that it can prove that it has followed all of its duties.
Read the council’s full statement below:
A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “Bolton Council undertakes a system of regular highway safety inspections of all adopted highways to comply with our statutory duty to maintain highways in accordance with Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980.
“When Bolton Council receives a claim for compensation from a member of the public, we are required to undertake a thorough investigation to try and determine whether or not we are liable for the damage which has occurred to the vehicle.
“In this particular instance whilst we sympathise with the claimant, Bolton Council is able to prove that it has followed all of its duties and has established that it has a Section 58 defence for the claim.
“Due to this, and in order to protect public funds, we unfortunately in this instance were unable to offer reimbursement for the damage.”
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