A man who had his car damaged by a pot hole has been awarded a sum of £2,000.
The driver, 68 year old Hamilton Bland from Coventry, who is a former presenter for the BBC and hopes that his case will help to affect future claims.
Mr Bland, who hit two potholes causing extreme damage to the wheels on his Mercedes as he made his way for a swim, was told after taking the car to a garage the damage would cost £1,900. After contacting the council they said they would not settle the dispute, saying that the fault did not lie at their door.
Mr Bland, who works for a memorabilia firm as the director, took over 70 photos of the incident. He knew at the time taking the council to court would be a risk saying,
“Taking the council to court was a risk I was prepared to take. I always felt I was right – you don’t have to be the world’s greatest detective to know the road had some dangerous potholes. Had a cyclist hit one of the potholes it would have been very serious indeed.”
Some of the roads in the surrounding areas have been resurfaced such as Charter Avenue. There was no doubt that the fault for this incident lay entirely at the door of the local council, a point which was underlined by District Judge Terry Lynch, during the court hearing.
He said that he was in no doubt that the damage to Mr Bland’s car was caused by the potholes in the road, and trusted that the incident had unfolded exactly as he had described it.
The road has since been repaired by the council.