Kent and Sussex pothole damage payouts increase

One road in East Grinstead has been dubbed "pothole alley"

Three councils paid more than £270,000 last year in compensation for pothole damage, figures have shown.

Statistics obtained by the BBC showed East Sussex paid £169,494 in 2013-14 compared with £48,264 in 2012-13.

Kent paid £48,256 compared with £45,402, and West Sussex paid £53,206 compared with £48,530.

RAC research in January found drivers across Britain claimed more then £3m in compensation last year, with the most claims in Surrey, Essex and Kent.

BBC South East has asked people to flag up pothole locations on an interactive map which will be passed to councils this week.

'Not a priority'

Some residents in East Grinstead have called their road "pothole alley".

Cliff Holland, from Oakhurst Gardens, said the county council had promised residents the road would be looked at this year, but he had received a letter that said work had been put back until 2017.

Another resident Len Donoghue said both his front tyres had punctured, at a cost of £180 per tyre, because of the potholes.

Naomi Booth said other cul de sacs had been resurfaced and asked: "Why is it that they are a priority and we are not?"

West Sussex County Council said Oakhurst Gardens was listed for repairs in 2016-17 but it would arrange a new site visit because it appeared there had been rapid deterioration.

"If it has deteriorated badly, we will consider bringing forward repairs to the 2015/16 financial year," a spokesman said.