I AM seeing a lot of interest lately on various social media forums about pothole damage and putting claims into the Council. People may remember my own fight with Fife Council and their insurance firm, Gallagher Bassett, last year which took over 12 months to resolve. I hope I can provide some guidance for those that have had damage to their vehicles or person by providing a "Dummies guide to Pothole Complaints". This information is not meant to be patronising but does give an insight into the process and how Fife Council deals with its citizens. Also, whilst I an recommend this information, I cannot be liable for any actions taken as it will be left to the individual on how they wish to pursue their own case.

The first step then is for each citizen to take the matters into their own hands in advance and inspect their own streets for damage. The Council Bible for road defects and repairs can be found at: http://publications.1fife.org.uk/uploadfiles/publications/c64_October20111.pdf There are two key points in this document. The first is on page 8 and is relevant to the categorisation of defect: Category A: is described as: "Defects that require prompt attention as they represent an immediate or imminent hazard or there is a risk of short term structural deterioration". These defects need to be made safe within the same day. Category B: is described as: "All other High or Medium Risk Defects" which should be repaired within five working days. Category P: is described as "All other Low risk defects". The document states that this will be resolved as part of routine maintenance or as part of a specific programme of work.

Safety Inspections are designed to identify those defects likely to cause a danger or serious inconvenience to the public and therefore require immediate or urgent attention. There are a couple of other key indicators in this document which I will reference as: 40mm depth: Any pothole with a depth of more than 40mm from the surface is considered as a Category B: and therefore requires fixing within five working days.

Roads are further categorised by a further Hierarchy, from 1 (Motorways) to (Private Roads). This classification is important as it will decide on how often the Council will perform a Safety Inspection and therefore fulfil their duty of care.

The reports will also tell you the interval level of inspection. Assuming that most of our potholes are on side streets, then the interval of inspection will be yearly. On main routes it will be every three months.

Most people, including myself, who have had some damage, have then called Fife Council the next day to make a claim. You need to make sure that the pothole was either previously recorded as a defect, either by another citizen or by the Safety Inspection report.

If you find that the pothole was reported previously then you have a good chance of success of your claim. It is now time to contact Fife Council to talk about your claim for damage.

Contact their claims department who will send out a claims form. Complete it and then send it in with copies of the photographs, reports and total value of damage.

The Council will pass this onto their Insurers, Gallagher Bassett, to assess the claim. They have eight weeks to do so.

Remember it is in Gallagher Bassett's commercial interests to show that they can refute the majority of claims. The Council has a duty of care which is enshrined in common law and pothole damage is noted in case law.

It's time for the Council to step up and repair the defects or suffer the consequences of the claims.

It is a case of taking the process stage by stage but it is a very slow one and it will take considerable time to get a claim resolved.

But if you feel strongly, as I did, that the state of the road has damaged your vehicle go ahead and file your claim.

Paul McGowan, Lochgelly.