Council pays out over £85,000 for 380 pothole compensation claims in Sheffield since 2017

However, despite 380 claims made against the council for vehicle damage or personal injury caused by potholes, only 88 have been paid out.

In 2017, Sheffield City Council paid out £28,064, with a further £47,097 handed over in 2018.

The figures, released following a Freedom of Information request by The Star, confirmed that there were 133 claims in 2017 (15 of which were successful), 213 claims in 2018 (with 61 successes), and 34 claims in 2019 (with 12 successes).

The largest single claim was in 2017, when £13,136 was paid out.

However, work is being done to rid Sheffield of potholes.

Sheffield Council signed a 25-year Streets Ahead deal with Amey in 2012, and the contractor said by 2018 it had resurfaced around 65 per cent of the city's roads.

To date, Streets Ahead has resurfaced over 1,691 miles of pavement, resurfaced over 855 miles of road, and repaired over 154,056 potholes.

Nick Hetherington, network account manager for Streets Ahead, said last year: “Prior to Streets Ahead, Sheffield’s road network was in severe decline due to many years of under-investment.

“The good news is that the data shows a steady fall in the percentage of Sheffield’s roads that require maintenance and suggests that, thanks to the Streets Ahead investment, they are being improved at a faster than average rate.”

“There is clearly still a lot to do but the progress is good and the city is moving in the right direction. A good road network is important for the local economy and the Streets Ahead programme will continue to improve and maintain roads to a good standard for the next 20 years.”

As part of the contract, the city's streets will be maintained to their new standard by Amey through until the end of the contract in 2037.

To report a pothole, complete a report on the council's website at www.sheffield.gov.uk/streetsahead or call them on 0114 273 4567.