A DRIVER whose car was damaged by a crater-like pothole has sent Kirklees Council her bill for repairs.

Vanessa Ramsden had to fork out £116 after one of the wheels on her two-year-old Ford Ka buckled when she drove over the hole on Northgate, Honley.

The Honley Infant School teacher, 27, is now trying to claim the money back.

She said: “My tyre burst instantly and my wheel buckled, forcing me to mount the pavement and stop in an unsafe place on a very busy road.

“It could have been very dangerous; I could have been sent flying across the road.

“I am in the process of trying to claim this money back from Kirklees highways but was told this could take months, leaving me out of pocket.”

The incident, on March 31, came shortly before the Examiner reported how the council had filled in 40,000 potholes since 2006.

Miss Ramsden, of Springfield Terrace, Emley, said it took three days to repair her car.

And on the way back from the garage on the same day of the incident, she noticed that the offending pothole – about two feet across and several inches deep – had been filled in.

She added: “Surely this goes to show just how bad it was and how desperately it needed doing. If this had been done in the first place, on a road which is already in a poor state and full of roadworks – but where there is no sign of road repairers – then this would not have happened.”

A Kirklees spokesman said: “If people want to put in a compensation claim for damage they claim is caused be faults or defects on the roads, there are procedures to enable them to do that.

“We are always willing to discuss specific cases with the people concerned.

“In this particular case, a letter of claim has been received and replied to, with an invitation to attend a joint site meeting to discuss the matter.”