People in Barnet made more insurance claims over damage to their cars from potholes last year than any other borough in London – costing the council over £23,000.

A series of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests by the Federation of Small Businesses revealed that in 2017 Barnet Council paid 74 out of 292 insurance claims, costing a total of £23,670.

The federation asked how many claims were made to the councils for vehicle damage as a result of potholes in 2017, and how much money councils paid out in these claims.

Derek Dishman, who writes a blog about parking and roads in Barnet under the name ‘Mr Mustard’, said: “The roads are somewhere between bad and diabolical, any journey you go on you a hit a bump somewhere.

“If you go for a walk round the block you find holes that are dangerous, especially for cyclists.”

“Some of the roads are nothing more than a collection of patches.”

The FSB also looked at the number of complaints made to councils regarding any damage to road surfaces from potholes – just over 1,300 were made to Barnet Council

Mr Dishman added: “Potholes are a real danger to people, particularly to cyclists – at least in a car it would just be expensive to if you hit a pothole rather than life threatening.”

Barnet Council said they are spending £50 million on improving roads and pavements in the borough over a five-year period.

But Mr Dishman said the fact Barnet has the highest number of compensation claims over potholes means “they are clearly not spending enough”.

A spokesperson for Barnet Council said the high number of insurance claims it receives over potholes is because it has one of the largest local authorities geographically, spanning more than 450 miles.

The spokesperson said: “This is reflected in the number of insurance claims we investigate each year.

“The extreme weather conditions experienced early last year will also have contributed to the number of claims and complaints seen by many local authorities.

“We carry out regular checks on roads, making repairs where needed, as well as responding to reported potholes to ensure they are fixed as quickly as possible.”

The report by the FSB also found that London-wide there were 28,599 recorded pothole complaints in 2017 -only 16 per cent of claimants received compensation, totalling £132,000.

Brent received the highest number of complaints with 3,187 in 2017.