Research from the AA has found that claims by UK motorists for pothole damage to their vehicles have increased by over 600 per cent in the last three years.

The new study shows that drivers claimed £2.85 million in damages last month alone, which is about 1,900 claims.

Simon Douglas, director at AA Insurance believes that this is "just the tip of the iceberg, because it takes serious damage to make it worth [an] insurance claim".

The company said that potholes can be a particular problem at night or when driving along rural roads when the motorist is often unaware of the pothole until it is too late and the damage has been done.

Councils in the UK are looking at ways of tackling this problem. North Yorkshire County Council, for example, has added 8p to the costs of council tax per week to raise money to repair potholes.

Edmund King, president of the AA commented: “Local roads are in a dreadful, dangerous state and emergency funding is desperately needed to stop the plague of potholes." He added: “However with the motorist already paying £46 billion per year in various motoring taxes and only a small proportion spent on the roads, it would be highway robbery to demand more money from local people."

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