A MOTORIST whose car was damaged by a pothole has hit out at his “disgusting” treatment by Pembrokeshire County Council following a year-long dispute - a claim the council refutes.

The 82-year-old driver, from St Dogmaels, said his car suffered damage totalling more than £575 to a tyre, wheel, steering arm and suspension after hitting the deep pothole on the B4332 between Llanfair-Nant-Gwyn and Crymych on December 17 last year.

He contacted the county council to report the accident and request compensation but received a letter back from the council’s loss adjusters saying he was not entitled to compensation as the road had been inspected by the county council three days before the incident and no problems had been reported.

The driver, who has asked not to be named, said: “I drove past the accident scene in my wife’s car three days later on December 20 and saw that repairs had been carried out on the road.

“I have to ask the question what prompted PCC to carry out repairs bearing in mind what was in the loss adjustor’s reply to me.”

He then received a further letter pointing out that in extreme winter conditions, road surfaces can deteriorate rapidly which would explain why there had been no problem noted on December 14 when the road was inspected.

The driver made further inquiries and contacted a local councillor who lives near the accident scene. He confirmed he too had reported the pothole in question to Pembrokeshire County Council.

A letter then arrived in May, saying that a defect had in fact been noted on the December 14 inspection but that it had been repaired within the seven-day target response time and therefore no compensation claim would be paid.

The motorist said: “I believe they were questioning my integrity all the time and if a modicum of goodwill had been applied, this matter could have been resolved by now.

“Pembrokeshire County Council seem to prefer paying fat fees to a firm of loss adjusters based in Leeds rather that settle a genuine claim by one of their own rate-payers. I believe I have been subjected to a series of incorrect and conflicting statements.

“I don’t expect now to receive compensation but it is a matter of principle and I am very concerned at the way the whole thing has been handled and how the county council goes about dealing with such claims.

“It is fortunate there was nothing coming in the other direction when I hit the pothole as it caused me to swerve across the road. The result could have been much worse.

“I feel I have been lied to, which is disgusting, and I don’t want anyone else to experience that.”

A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman said: "For a public liability claim against Pembrokeshire County Council to be successful, it is for the claimant to be able to prove that the council has been negligent and therefore legally liable.

"This claim has been dealt with through our usual procedures and despite his continued grievances we consider that this matter has been dealt with properly.

"While we understand that the driver is unhappy with the outcome of the claim there is no evidence that we have acted negligently in our duty to maintain the highway.

"The initial correspondence failed to accurately identify the incident location and we therefore had to write back to him requesting clarification, which is standard process.

"When the location was confirmed the incident was investigated and the usual report prepared for our claims handlers.

"We understandably have to ensure that all claims are dealt with properly and none are paid without thorough investigation and proof of negligence.

"The appointment of Gallagher Basset to act on our behalf for handling claims has been made following diligent procurement processes."