Revealed: Shropshire councils' £100,000 potholes payouts

Telford & Wrekin Council forked out nearly £80,000 to seven people injured on borough roads from 2011 up to March this year. And Shropshire Council handed over more than £20,000 to six claimants.

The figures were obtained as the RAC called on the Government to commit extra money to allow councils to repair potholes, saying it will save money in the long-term.

Shropshire Council revealed there had been 46 claims of injuries due to potholes during the same time period but that it had only paid out on a few.

Two of the injury claims were on the A41, but all of the others were on different roads.

The authority did not provide information on the amount of cash paid out as a result of vehicle damage over the five-year period.

Telford & Wrekin Council said it had paid out a total £136,841 for both injuries to individuals and vehicle damage since 2011.

The road with the most claims, 14, was Dawley Road, which was this year resurfaced in an attempt to stem the problem.

Of the amount paid out in Telford & Wrekin, £79,901 was given to seven people for suffering personal injury.

Telford & Wrekin Council spokesman Chris Kowalik said: "Road user safety is of great importance to the council and over the last three years we have improved our approach to planned and reactive maintenance.

"The number of potholes reported to us on an annual basis has decreased and our inspection regime has improved."

Angie Beechey, Shropshire Council's risk and insurance manager, said: "The total number of injuries caused by potholes was 46. We paid out on six, at a total cost of £20,721.50.

"There were two injury claims on the A41, but apart from that they were all on different roads."

In April it was revealed that more than £1 million would be handed over to Shropshire Council in a bid to blitz potholes.

The cash will come from the Government's £250 million Pothole Action Fund.

Shropshire Council will receive £1.036 million of the initial £50 million pot, allowing it to fill more than 19,500 potholes. But Telford & Wrekin Council has been given a much smaller sum – £176,000 – to deal with problems on roads in its area.

The money will help repair 3,300 holes, although the authority has far fewer roads than its neighbour and each council's figure has been calculated based on the size of its road network.

Separate figures released last month revealed Welsh authorities spent more than £30 million on compensation in five years following accidents caused by potholes.

Ed Evans, from the RAC, said a more efficient system of pothole repairs prevented accidents, lowering compensation claims. He called for the end to "panic patch repairs" and added: "Councils need a programme of replacing our roads to a high standard and keeping it to a high standard."