MORE than a thousand drivers have claimed repair costs from Essex County Council after roads were ravaged by the harsh winter.

The authority has revealed 1,185 claims have been filed since October by motorists whose vehicles were damaged by potholes.

Claimants were left with repair bills of hundreds of pounds as ice and snow took its toll on the county’s roads.

But many will be left to foot the bill as the council will only pay out in cases where holes were recorded as being trouble spots in advance of accidents.

Paul Burke, of Lethe Grove, Colchester, was left fuming when bosses rejected his request for £700 after hitting a deep hole in Berechurch Hall Road.

Residents have complained for years about the street’s state of repair. But because the pothole, which wrecked Mr Burke’s wheels had not been reported, county officials are not obliged to pay out.

Mr Burke, who works at car dealer Roy Tolley in Gosbecks Road, said: “We all pay our road tax and I don’t think it should matter whether or not they knew about the hole in advance.

“They knew the road was in a bad state and if they had gone out to repair it, this would not have happened.

“As it is, I have been left with a £700 repair bill and they have had to pay to send someone out on a Sunday to make a temporary repair which is already starting to give way.”

Council spokesman Nicola Spicer said its claims decisions were independently audited by insurers.

She said: “All claims are fully investiagted.

“All claims are investigated fully and costs are only paid if the council feels it is liable as highway authorities are protected by legislation unless the authority is aware of the existence of a defect prior to the incident leading to a claim.”