A driver in Hucknall has hit out at the state of the roads in Nottinghamshire after claiming a pothole destroyed one of his front tyres. At around 5.50pm on March 4, Andrew Sheeran, 52, was travelling along Portland Road in Hucknall to pick his partner up from work in the town.
The Hucknall motorist, who works as a bus driver, says he hit two potholes by Kings Catch fish bar in his blue 2013 Seat Toledo within 15-20 metres of each other, one of which damaged and punctured one of the front tyres. He called the AA to have a new tyre fitted.
A Mansfield motorist has also blasted potholes in Nottinghamshire after his tyre ripped and his alloy wheel was smashed. Mark Hills, 50, had to change his tyre in the pouring rain at the side of the road.
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The incident in Hucknall cost Andrew £70 to repair. He says he contacted Nottinghamshire County Council to claim that money back and was asked to give a full report of the two potholes, and was then sent a claim form, asking for photographs.
Andrew went back to take photos of the potholes that same night, but they had already been filled in by the local authority, he says. But Andrew had already taken photos of the state of the road at the time of the incident.
He says he is trying to claim back the £70 for the tyre damage which was caused through no fault of his own. But Andrew claims the council is refusing this, stating that a pothole was not present during a prior inspection, that it did not require repairing under council policy and guidelines at the time, it had developed since the last inspection and it may not have been deep or wide enough to warrant filling it in.
Andrew said: "I'm not looking to claim hundreds of pounds worth of damages, I just want the £70 for the tyre for which I am out of pocket through no fault of my own. I drive professionally for a living, and I'm down potholes every day in the vehicles I drive, and that's all around Nottingham.
"I knew immediately there was damage when I hit this particular one. But I've been told I need independent legal advice to claim."
Gary Wood, head of highways and transport at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: "We inspect all roads across Nottinghamshire at least once a year and our top priority is to keep our highways safe for all road users. Where potholes are found and meet our criteria for repair, our team will undertake a safety repair within 24 hours for the most urgent defects.
"For a pothole to be considered a safety defect it must be at least 40mm deep in the road surface or 20mm deep in a footway for us to investigate and prioritise the repair. A routine inspection of Portland Road, Hucknall took place on February 14 and no actionable defects were found.
"We received reports of potholes at the location on March 7 and the defects were found to meet criteria for repair. A safety repair was made at this time. Mr Sheeran's claim relating to the pothole will be investigated in line with our policy."
