A North Staffordshire resident has been waiting over six months for compensation after hitting a huge pothole leaving the car undrivable.

Despite costing over £1700 to repair and waiting over half a year no compensation has been paid and emails haven't been answered since March.

On 12th December 2023 Matt Shawtell was driving south on Cheadle Road in Draycott in the Moors after hitting the pothole and getting the undrivable car recovered to a nearby garage he reported the pothole. However after a few days was told Staffordshire County Council were 'unable to identify any defects that require remedial works at this time'.

However in a statement from Staffordshire County Council they say the pothole was inspected the day after receiving the report and an emergency repair was carried out immediately. Additionally they say the rise in potholes are down to one of wettest and stormiest winters on record and are investing additional money over the next year to repair them.

Matt's bill was over £1,700 and six months later no compensation has been paid (Matt Shawtell).

In total the bill came to £1719.24, speaking about the bill Matt said: "This is the bit that kind of frustrated me, I didn't know what council to report it to. So I just reported it and then they said they couldn't find the hole and I was like you can't not find it, it's massive.

"So I went back the day after and I found it had been filled in so obviously they knew it was a problem or they at least went out and had a look when it was reported and thought, oh it's really bad and filled it in immediately.

The offending pothole was six centimetres deep and over one metre wide. Due to damage the near side front tyre, lower arm and wheel bearing all needed replacing.

The Oakamoor resident continued: "I've still not had any response and it's particularly annoying having hit it at Christmas when you don't have that much money in the bank as it is. Ultimately I don't feel the bill is justified for me having to pay it considering how bad the roads are.

"Almost the whole length of that road there are potholes and bad surfaces and stuff. So for them to go along and say we can't find an issue is just an insult really. So what I'd really like is first of all for the bill to be paid and second of all to put in money to highways to actually fix the roads because they're getting worse and worse."

The pothole, on Cheadle Road, was six centimetres deep and over one metre wide (Google).

Darryl Eyers, Staffordshire County Council's director for economy, infrastructure and skills, said: "Our highways inspection team received a report of the mentioned defect in Cheadle Road on 12 December. The pothole was inspected the next day, and an emergency repair was made there and then. 

"If a pothole causes damage to a resident's vehicle, they have a right to make a claim for compensation on our website. Claims for compensation are then handled externally by our insurers, so we are unable to comment on a claim's status. We do, however, urge residents to continue to report potholes to us through our Report It page online. 

"We have recently seen a huge rise in pothole reports after experiencing one of the wettest and stormiest winters on record in Staffordshire. This is why the county council has invested an additional £8 million to double down on fixing more roads over the next 12 months."

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