Giant potholes not our fault, county council claims

Derbyshire County Council has claimed this giant pothole on one of its roads is not its responsibility.

Derbyshire County Council, which has painted one of its speed camera vans plain blue, has refused to compensate a rider who crashed on the pothole, claiming it could not have been expected to be aware of it.

Ian Stephenson, director of the council’s environmental services, wrote to the victim: “The road in question is inspected regularly but unfortunately the defect to which you refer occurred between inspections and as such the county council could not have been expected to be aware of it.”

Stephenson raised doubts over whether he’d read the victim’s claim by adding: “I do sympathise with you that your car has been damaged in this way but I do not consider that the county council have been negligent and cannot therefore be held liable in this instance.”

Stephenson was unavailable for comment.