MORE than half a million of pounds in compensation has been handed out by Wiltshire Council to drivers whose vehicles were damaged by potholes last year - more than any other local authority the UK.

The almost £508,000 bill topped the list of 197 councils that responded to a Freedom of Information request, compared to £152,630 paid out by Hampshire County Council.

In total authorities paid £3.1m in compensation to drivers whose vehicles were damaged by poor road surfaces in 2016, with councils spending an additional £104m repairing potholes.

The study for insurance firm Confused.com calculated that the UK's potholes have a total depth of more than 24 miles, which is almost four times deeper than the Pacific Ocean.

Bridget Wayman, Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for highways, said: “As these figures do not compare like for like, they are not a fair evaluation. We actually paid out just over £80,000 to repair damaged vehicles, not the figures quoted.

“As a rural county, we look after more miles of roads than most and are spending more on road maintenance and improvements than ever before, currently around £20 million per year.

“Alongside our partners we were recognised nationally this week for our innovative work to trial new technology to spot potholes which could potentially change the way local authorities maintain roads in the future.

“Our rolling programme of work, which has already significantly reduced the backlog of road maintenance, is ongoing. We constantly monitor our roads so we can programme appropriate work to help improve their condition, but where there are local road issues we’d encourage people to report them using the MyWilts app and we will address these as quickly as possible.”

A survey of 2,000 motorists found that one in three have suffered damage to their vehicles due to poor road surfaces, including tyres and suspension problems.

According to a government spokesman, year on year the Department for Transport is providing councils with record levels of capital funding - more than £7.1 billion up to 2021 - for them to improve local roads and repair potholes.

Martin Tett, the Local Government Association's transport spokesman, said: "Councils share the frustration of motorists having to drive on roads that are often inadequate and are doing the best they can in challenging circumstances.

"Only with adequate funding from central government can local authorities deliver roads for the 21st century."