A RECORD number of more than 4,000 complaints about potholes were made during the past 12 months, leading to Wiltshire Council paying out thousands of pounds in compensation.

Wiltshire Council received 4,001 complaints, with the A345 the subject of the biggest number of queries.

The complaints led to claims for compensation from people who had their vehicles damaged and the authority paid nearly £37,000 after 181 successful complaints.

The number of complaints, and successful claims in Wiltshire dwarfs that for Swindon. As reported in the Adver last week, the borough council spent £1,800 to 19 successful complainants over the same period, with 57 saying bumpy roads had damaged their car.

The borough council also received 878 requests for holes to be repaired last year, spending nearly £650,000 on fixing the holes, an increase of seven per cent on the previous year.

Thamesdown Drive was the most complained about road.