The figure, obtained by the Courier under the Freedom of Information Act, has led to concerns unneccesary claims are eating into resources that could be used for repair work.

Some £292,000 of compensation payments were handed out to 181 claimants in the 12 months leading up to March this year. The council spent £600,000 on repairing damage to roads during the same period.

Warwickshire County Council insurance officer Milton Scott said another 236 claims for damage to vehicles were settled without payment.

He said: "We would only pay out a claim if the law supported the payment of that amount of money, but it is true that we do not take cases to court often because it would significantly increase costs.

"The high number of claims is down to a society where everybody believes they have a right to make a claim or to benefits.

"You have only got to switch on the television to see all these adverts asking, 'have you had an accident?'. Ten years ago people could not have advertised in that way. And 30 years ago an awful lot of these claims would not have been made because the inclination was not there."


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County highways manager Andrew Savage said: "Potholes will inevitably form. Over the past year we have put extra resources to speed up and improve the durability of repairs.

"We received 75 per cent fewer public calls than in the previous year and insurance claims reduced by 25 per cent, which is encouraging."

According to figures from the Local Government Association, money spent on legal fees last year could have gone towards repairing an extra 946,429 of the estimated 3.5 million potholes in England and Wales.

Councils across England and Wales spent £53 million on compensation payouts and £12 million on case costs related to potholes, compared to £52 million spent on repairs.

How to reduce the burden

Courier driving columnist Andy Thomas said: "An experienced driver should be able to see potholes in time. The trouble at this time of year is that many are filled with water, so it's difficult to know whether it's just a puddle.

"To an extent potholes are unavoidable, but whether there is any great damage done to the car, a lot of the time it's going to be the driver's fault for not seeing the hole.

"If potholes are likely you should be driving a lot slower. And it's worth noting that the council can only fix problems that they are aware of - so report them."

Anyone wishing to report damage to roads around Warwickshire should contact the county council on 412515.