George Osborne has just delivered his 2011 Budget and announced that an extra £100m funding for local authorities to repair potholes caused by the exceptionally cold winter.

This is in addition to the £100m announced in February 2011.

The formation of potholes is exacerbated by low temperatures, as water expands when it freezes to form ice, and puts greater stress on an already cracked pavement or road.

Once a pothole forms, it grows through continued removal of broken chunks of pavement. If a pothole fills with water the growth may be accelerated, as the water 'washes away' loose particles of road surface as vehicles pass.

Pothole facts

• the average number of potholes filled by local authorities in England represents a 42% increase on last year
• London authorities filled in 53% more potholes
• the average cost in England (excluding London) of filling in a pothole is £78. The cost in London is £68
• the number of potholes filled over the last year in England (excluding London) was 1.2m. In London, 121,299 were filled in
• if all authorities were given the budgets they need to fix their roads, it would take English authorities 11.5 years to catch up with the current backlog, and Welsh authorities 14.9 years

With the increased number of potholes, there's been an increase in the number of claims from either pedestrians tripping in the same, or from motorists whose vehicles have been damaged from driving over them.  View our personal injury solicitors page and road traffic accidents page here.

How will the money be split up?

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has written to all 153 local highway authorities in England, including those in London, to inform them of their share of the pot. The South East and South West are getting the biggest shares - £33,922,706 and £34,203,006 respectively -  with the North East getting the smallest - £9,437,675.

To promote greater transparency and accountability, all local highway authorities have agreed to publish information on their websites by 30 September 2011 showing where this extra money has been spent.

The extra money is in addition to the £831m already provided to councils for road maintenance this year, and the £3 billion the Government has committed over the next four years.

What should you do if you sustain injury, loss or damage due to a pothole?

Gather evidence of the pothole as soon as possible. As long as it's completely safe to do so, take photographs, measure the pothole's width and depth and note anything else about it, such as its position on a blind corner, whether it was hidden from view, etc. It's also important to obtain the exact location of the pothole.

If there were any witnesses to your accident, get their names, addresses and contact details.

Once you've gathered the evidence, report the pothole to the council responsible for maintaining the area in question. Reporting potholes can be done by phone and online.

How can we help?

At Access Legal from Shoosmiths we've dedicated solicitors with specialist knowledge on bringing claims against local authorities.  View our recent article What duty does the local highway authority owe you for the conditions of the road?, here.

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