Dudley Council spends £33,000 on 60 pothole claims
Almost £34,000 was paid out by Dudley Council in pothole compensation claims in a year, new figures have revealed.
The authority spent an average of £562 per successful claim in 2018, paying a total of £33,702 to 60 people.
But less than half of the claims made were successful, with 148 made against the authority overall.
The figure is more than double the £15,430 paid out by bosses in 2017 to 26 people out of 66 claims, a Freedom of Information request showed.
The claims relate to damage caused by potholes to vehicles across the whole of the borough.
Bosses say the claims came during winter last year.
The cold snap, caused by the Siberian blast, dubbed the Beast from the East, lasted several days and battered the roads in February last year.
Alan Lunt, deputy chief executive of Dudley Council, said: "We have seen the number of claims and compensation to motorists decrease over the last few years, thanks to our investment in our roads and commitment to target areas most in need.
"The winter of 2018 was particularly harsh and saw a corresponding increase in claims.
"But it also saw us working harder than ever to fix the problems that the winter brought us, with us investing more than £500,000 in tackling pothole repairs.
"We will continue to deliver our ongoing maintenance programme, but will also respond to urgent matters as they arise. "
A repair programme, Dudley Council Plus, has been launched by the authority to encourage people to report a pothole through the council’s app.
In 2016 bosses paid out £25,931.73 for 75 claims, with £75,987.53 paid out in 2015 for 45 claims.
The highest amount paid out by the authority was £98,715.50 for 42 claims in 2012.
