Blackburn with Darwen Council has paid a driver over £1000 for repairs to her car after it was damaged by a “crater” pothole, but refuses to accept responsibility for the incident.

Nasima Dhumadia filed a complaint with the council after she and several others had significant damage to their cars, which fell into the pothole on Belmont Road in March.

Her car suffered damage to the wheels, scratches and scuffs on the front bumper and other parts of the vehicle.

Mrs Dhumadia said: “They sent me this note to say they're not going to accept liability and I had to sign some sort of form to accept that, which seemed to be fair.

“From a principal point of view I think ‘well, it was [the council's] fault' but you know what? I'm getting what I wanted at the end of it.”

The council gave Mrs Dhumadia an ‘ex-gratia’ payment for the damage, and asked her to sign a form which absolved the council of blame for the incident, which Councillor Colin Rigby criticised as being dishonest.

He said: “It’s a large hole in the middle of the road that’s not been repaired, it’s [the council's] fault – there’s no argument involved.

“I’ve made mistakes before, everybody makes mistakes, but I just put my hand up and say ‘yeah, I’ll sort it’ and most people are willing to accept that.

“It’s not the greatest solution in the world, but the important thing is that [Mrs Dhumadia] got her tyre and wheel replaced.”