Blitz on potholes in and around Keynsham

Bath and North East Somerset Council says that the amount of money it has had to shell out in compensation to drivers for damage to their cars has dropped by 90 per cent in two years.

A recent survey by windscreen provider Autoglass found that councils in England and Wales paid out £22.8 million in compensation to drivers for pothole-related damage in 2012.

B&NES spokesman James Hinchcliffe said that in 2010 the council paid £50,158.63 in compensation to motorists. That fell to £15,688.14 in 2011 and last year it had to pay out just £2,110.11.

He said: "This is partly down to the fact that we have made substantial investment in proactive road resurfacing which improves the quality of the carriageway which, in turn, helps prevent potholes occurring in the first place."

In 2009/10, £2.73 million was invested, in 2010/11 £4.26 million, in 2011/12 £3.65 million and in 2012/13 £2.62 million.

In 2009, 5,067 potholes were repaired in B&NES. In 2010 the figure was 7,509, with a further 2,259 in 2011 and 4,252 last year.

Mr Hinchcliffe added: "We are also getting potholes repaired more quickly, hence the decrease in insurance claims, because our own systems to get a pothole repaired have become more efficient and the public are playing their part.

"The council has done a lot of work to increase awareness about how to get in contact to report potholes so that we can repair them as quickly as possible."

The council defines a pothole as "a sharp-edged depression in the carriageway greater than 30mm deep".

You can report potholes online.