ENGINEER Michael Powell, 68, is to put in a claim for compensation from the county council for damage to his Mercedes 270. He said he was left with a £170 bill after a suspension spring snapped when he hit a pothole in Denchworth Road, Grove, on May 14.

Mr Powell, of Albemarle Drive, Grove, said: “The council should be held accountable. We pay so much in rates for repairing roads, we also pay road tax, what happens to that?”

He said: “It should have been filled in. For them saying we have had bad winters, I can remember 1947 and we never had these problems.”

A wait of 28 days is “far too long” he said, adding: “They should get them out the offices and give them some shovels. Get the chief executive out.”

The council has a duty under the Highways Act 1980 to “maintain the highway” and drivers can seek compensation for personal injury and property damage. The act gives councils a defence where it can be shown that “reasonable care” was taken to ensure a road was “not dangerous to traffic”.

Council spokesman Owen Moreton: “We have yet to receive this report, but will obviously be happy to hear from Mr Powell.”

The pothole has not been reported by the public on its website. The number of claims in the last year was unavailable as we went to press.