Wigan Council has spent more than £1.1m on pothole repairs and seen a staggering rise in the number of compensation claims lodged against it for damage caused by the craters in the last three years.

As Britain’s ‘pothole crisis’ hits record levels, an investigation by Accident Claims Advice has revealed claims against the council for pothole damage have risen by 99 per cent since 2021.

In the last three years, the local authority says it has spent £1,114,917 on pothole repairs as well as forking out a further £52,824 in compensation claims.

It comes as the number of roads being left unrepaired by UK councils has now hit record levels.

It is said that Wigan currently has 110 unfixed craters on its roads

placeholder image — It is said that Wigan currently has 110 unfixed craters on its roads

Up to 82 per cent of the miles of local roads flagged as in need of maintenance were ignored by councils last year - the highest proportion since records began in 2009, according to the latest Department for Transport (DfT) data.

As it stands, Wigan Council confirmed it has currently around 110 potholes needing repair.

New data obtained by Accident Claims Advice (ACA) via Freedom of Information requests has found that the local authority has had 374 legal claims lodged against it regarding potholes in the last three years with the figure increasing from 91 claims in 2022 to 181 last year.

In 2024, the council paid out a record £23,562 settling 70 pothole claims.

Julie Middlehurst, assistant director for infrastructure at Wigan Council, said: “Wigan Council follows the Department for Transport (DfT) guidance in the management and maintenance of our highways infrastructure.

“This approach has resulted in the annual DfT road condition surveys showing Wigan Borough’s roads as some of the best both regionally and nationally, benefiting our businesses and residents.

"Compensation claims can fluctuate year to year but don’t paint an accurate picture of the number of incidents in a 12-month period as motorists are not required to claim within the year of the accident.

“Wigan Council recently secured additional highway maintenance funding for 2025/26 which will help to further support the maintenance of the borough’s road network. We encourage all residents to notify us about any defects in the roads by visiting wigan.gov.uk/ReportIt.”

ACA’s Public Liability specialist, Beverly Faulkner said: “Councils and local authorities have a duty of care to ensure the safety of people using public spaces, such as parks, highways and footpaths.

" A crucial part of this is making sure the land under their control is properly maintained. Failing to do this can put people at risk.

“The damage caused by potholes can be catastrophic leading to serious injury and/or costly vehicle damage. It is vital that roads are properly maintained and councils are held responsible for the roads they maintain.”

Across Britain, pothole-plagued minor roads have fallen to their lowest level on record.

Steve Gooding, the director of the RAC Foundation, said: “The number of cars is increasing, traffic volume is increasing, the number of potholes is increasing, the only thing not increasing seems to be the amount of money being spent on maintaining our local roads, which everyone in the country relies on whether they drive or not.”

Wigan Council’s spending on pothole repairs has actually increased year on year from £333K spent between 2021/22 to £415K last year (2023/24).