£13m paid to victims of London pot-holes

Hundreds of people are injured because of the dire state of London roads, landing authorities with compensation claims for £13million in the past year.

Figures out today show that each council is paying nearly £400,000 to cyclists, pedestrians and motorists. The number of incidents involving injury or damage to vehicles in the capital has soared by 43 per cent in the past decade, the Annual Road Maintenance Survey reveals. Each of the 33 boroughs has to employ one worker full-time just to keep pace with the claims.

The Asphalt Industry Alliance, which based its findings on information from surveyors, said the crisis was a result of chronic underfunding.

It says London has a £100 million road maintenance budget shortfall and received only £85 million from central government.

Jim Crick, chairman of the AIA, said that by contrast, authorities in the capital were raising £300million a year from parking fines and fees.

"It is a shame this cannot be spent on keeping the roads in an acceptable condition," he said. "London is falling down a giant ?100 million pothole."

Nine in 10 council surveyors now believe roads in their borough pose a threat to the safety of the public.