COUNTY council bosses paid out more than £110,000 last year due to damage caused to vehicles by potholes.

Compensation paid out by Lancashire County Council as insurance payments due to damage to vehicles occurred by potholes over the past 10 years has been revealed.

Figures reveal for 2017/18 a total of £111,553.89 was spent on insurance payments, a rise of more than £72,000 on the £39,023.39 paid out 10 years previously.

It is a drop of more than £100,000 from the £221,452.38 paid out in 2016/17, the highest in the past 10 years.

However that was a massive increase on the previous year, when just £42,753.57 was paid out as insurance payments.

The second highest payout during the period was £206,75.84 in 2013/14.

Hyndburn MP Graham Jones, who obtained the figures with a Freedom of Information request, said he was surprised to see some of the peaks and troughs in payouts over the past 10 years.

He said: "I think it's terrible that tax payers money is being spent on needless repairs to cars.

"If the potholes were repaired faster we'd have better roads and the county council would not have to pay out these claims."