An Oxford pensioner has been robbed of her 'lifeline' and had a lucky escape after her moped was severely damaged by a pothole.

Widow Ruth Racey, 72, of Halliday Hill, Headington, has called her Honda moped her independence because she uses to it to see friends, family, and do the shopping.

But she had a lucky escape in Windmill Road last week when its back tyre blew as she rode over a deep pothole.

She escaped unhurt and her moped is being repaired, bus Mrs Racey intends to send Oxfordshire County Council the bill.

Since the Oxford Mail revealed that the council receives about one claim every two days concerning vehicle damage caused by potholes, we have been inundated by motorists complaining about the state of the roads.

The council has blamed lack of funding from the Government.

Mrs Racey said: "I was riding along Windmill Road when I realised there was a pothole - and I couldn't avoid it.

"I went over it with a great thud. I was left stranded and it will cost me a lot of money to get it repaired.

"It's so dangerous when you are on two wheels. When the back wheel hit the pothole I really thought I was going to come off - and if I did who knows what would have happened.

"My moped is my independence."

In the past year nearly 200 drivers who claimed their cars were damaged by potholes on Oxfordshire's roads have demanded compensation.

County Hall, which is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of roads, has received claims totalling nearly £50,000 from 194 drivers in the past 12 months.

The authority has settled 58 of the claims, with payments totalling £12,450.

The figures come as research by insurance firm Warranty Direct revealed potholes were the cause of as many as 20 per cent of car breakdowns in some parts of the UK.

The Asphalt Industry Alliance claimed highways authorities were simply patching up roads and there was a 10-year, £1.6bn maintenance backlog nationally.

Brian Fell, Oxfordshire County Council's assistant head of transport, said: "It is important to point out Oxfordshire is bucking national trends.

"Our number of damage claims are on the decline, while those in other areas rise.

"Although we received claims worth around £50,000 since October last year, we only paid out £12,400.

"Our aim is to deal with emergencies within two hours, to repair the more urgent defects within 24 hours and to repair less urgent defects within 28 days."

Get in touch

Have you had bad experience with the state of Oxford's roads. Tell us all about it by calling 01865 425554 or email nqonews@nqo.com