British businesses are being left out of pocket as a result of pothole damage on battered roads, according to experts at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
A new study by the group found a staggering 47 percent of small firms say they have been negatively impacted by potholes over the past year.
A quarter of businesses (24 percent) admitted that damage on UK roads has cost some firms more than £300 in the past 12 months.
This rises to 37 percent of individuals who have spent over £100 fixing pothole-related damage in a major blow to firms.
FSB Policy Chair Tina McKenzie said: “Potholes are a major blight on our roads and as our new research clearly shows they are causing untold misery to small business owners across the country, resulting in major financial and reliability issues.
“One business owner we spoke to has been forced to pay out for three new tyres in the space of 12 months.
“Another who provides healthcare workers to care homes and hospitals, regularly gets calls from staff saying they can’t get to their shift due to pothole damage, impacting both her business and her clients’ staffing levels.”
The FSB stressed that many business owners were “unaware that it’s their right to claim money back” from local authorities.
The Government have pledged an extra £500million to fixing UK roads with Labour previously promising to fix one million potholes per year.
However, FSB officials have called for the introduction of a new “national pothole damage compensation claim form”.
This would help guarantee motorists could get immediate access to a “fast and simple claim process” to secure payouts as soon as possible.
They also want to see a new ‘while you’re there’ approach with teams sent to fox potholes checking for other damage before leaving.
Tina added: “Small businesses are currently under the cosh with increasing costs across the board.
“Having to pay out to fix costly damage from a vehicle or dealing with other disruption is the last thing they need.
“We were pleased that additional funds have been promised by the government at the Budget – we now need to see this plague of potholes being fixed rapidly and efficiently, resulting in a major improvement in our roads.”
