Hampshire County Council slammed by New Forest motorists as A&T Freedom of Information request finds three quarters are rejected

NEW Forest motorists have slammed the county council over its repeated rejections of their claims for pothole damage, as it’s revealed only a quarter are successful.

In response to a Freedom of Information request from the A&T, the cash-strapped authority confirmed it has thrown out three in four pothole claims received in the past two years.

The council said it has received some 4,932 claims for damages and injuries caused by defects since August 2022. Of those, 3,659 – just over 74% – were rejected.

Looking to bridge a £175m funding gap, the authority recently announced it has slashed £7.5m from its highways maintenance budget.

Among those drivers who had payouts refused was charity stalwart Alan Blair MBE, who helped establish Wessex Heartbeat and the Solent Dolphin vessel Alison MacGregor, which takes people with disabilities out on the water.

Mr Blair, who has limited mobility himself, said his car sustained hundreds of pounds of damage as a result of a pothole on Rhinefield Ornamental Drive in Brockenhurst in February.

“I had just taken some friends out for lunch,” Mr Blair told the A&T. “We were on our way home on Ornamental Drive, which is very narrow, after just turning off the A35. There was a skip lorry coming the other way and I had to pull right to the side of the road to let it pass, and went over a great pothole.

“I heard an almighty bang and I thought for a moment I had hit the lorry, but it was actually a rectangular pothole at the side of the road.”

He continued: “The car immediately started to behave strangely. The impact had forced the front tyre of the vehicle so it was stuck inside the engine compartment, and it left my rear tyre fully deflated. It was a horrible day.”

Mr Blair called his insurer, who arranged for his vehicle to be recovered, but he had to call a friend to give him and his passengers a lift home. Mr Blair later launched a claim for pothole damage through the county council’s website.

“There’s a warning on the website that if your claim is successful, the cash comes out of the public purse,” he told the A&T. “I filed a claim and sent photos from my insurer of the damage done to the car - both wheels had been destroyed.

“I eventually got what I believe is their standard reply that no defects were previously found there, so my claim has been rejected.

“I understand the financial situation the council is in, but it is hard to understand the decision. I had witnesses, I had photos as evidence of the damage done - I’m not going to make it all up or leave myself stranded for an hour just to make a false damage claim.

“There’s nothing more I can do now - I’ve made a claim and it’s been rejected. They’ve sent me three pages of their legal reasoning. The damage cost £1,500, all on my insurance, but I had to cover the £550 excess and my next insurance renewal cost me double. This has cost me a lot of money.”

As reported by the A&T last month, Sopley motorist Ed Baker also had his claim for pothole damage rejected by HCC.

Mr Baker told the A&T his Dacia Sandero went down a “vast chasm” in Derritt Lane in March, buckling two wheels and flattening the tyres. Despite submitting a compensation claim to the council using Google Street View images to prove the existence of the pothole, Mr Baker’s claim was rejected.

The authority’s claim that the pothole was not seen during a highways inspection just one month before his collision was derided by Mr Baker as “risible”.

Following publication of his story, multiple A&T readers contacted the paper to share their experiences of claims being thrown out.

One reader, who asked not to be identified, said: “I was also caught out by this very large hole in Derritt Lane which ripped off my front spoiler.

“The reporting seemed simple enough, but trying to complete the website claim was horrendous; so much so after three hours I gave up.”

Another reader told the A&T: “I damaged a tyre driving down a pothole in Long Lane in Holbury last December when it was dark and wet.

“I’ve seen another vehicle there with a punctured tyre since then, and I stopped to lend them my tyre inflator.”

The reader said she tried to claim for the damage done to her vehicle, but was told by the council the road had been inspected a month earlier and no defects had been found.

“I would like to have pursued my claim but I did not have – and do not have – the wherewithal to do it,” she added.

Giving an explanation of its pothole claim processes, a council spokesperson said: “With the exception of those claims that are redirected to any third party as a result of their involvement or responsibility, any claims that the Highway Authority considers are defendable will be rejected in accordance with the defence afforded to them by section 58 of the Highways Act, and where such care has been taken as in all the circumstances was reasonably required to secure that the part of the highway to which the action relates was not dangerous for traffic.”