A pothole in Winkfield Row left a man’s car wheel dented and needing replacement – but Bracknell Forest Council says it’s not responsible.

Christopher Kelly was on his way to work on January 2 when he hit the pothole on the side of a speed bump on Chavey Down Road, near the Don Beni restaurant.

But after he reported the hole to Bracknell Forest Council two days later, he was told he wasn’t entitled to compensation – because staff had checked the road three months earlier.

Mr Kelly told the News: “I was on my usual route to work when I hit the speed bump at 20 miles per hour and there was a bang.

READ MORE: State of Bracknell roads ‘not what residents expect’ council admits

“I changed the wheel on the side of the road but I could see the alloy rim on the inside was dented.”

Mr Kelly had to buy a replacement second hand wheel – which he says he got for around £150 online. But after investigating, council officers told him this month he wasn’t entitled to compensation as the hole wasn’t there when they last inspected the road in September.

A letter from Bracknell Forest Council said the council has to inspect the road every three months. It said as the hole developed before they were due to inspect it again, the council hadn’t failed in its duty to maintain the road.

The letter dated March 6 said: “If compensation is to be considered there must be evidence that the council has failed in its duty.

“The road where your incident took place is inspected once every three months with a one week tolerance period. The last inspection prior to your incident took place on 25 September and the defect was not apparent at this time.

“Therefore at the date of the incident the council were not aware of the existence of the relevant defect.”

Bracknell Forest Council’s letter also said the hole was reported to it on January 2 and fixed by 6pm that same day. This is after another driver burst two tyres after also hitting it.

Yet photos taken by Mr Kelly show that the speedy repair had almost completely broken down again by the end of February. A sturdier repair then seemed to have been completed by February 26.

Bracknell Forest Council had not responded to a request for comment by time of publication. But the news comes just as council leaders are set to approve a £6.9 million spending plan on roads over the next year. This includes £4.3 million for resurfacing.

Announcing the plan on Tuesday, March 12, councillor Guy Gillbe said: “While an increase to £4.3m for resurfacing roads is good news, we have more than 280 miles of road to maintain in the borough, so not every issue in Bracknell Forest can be fixed over the next year.”