Cyclist leaves council in a hole

Andy Hillier, 30, was riding to work when his rear wheel was wrecked as he hit a pothole in Uxbridge Road. The journalist had to push his £500 Marin bike back home before travelling to work by Tube after the accident in June.

He filed an official compensation claim with Ealing council and expected to receive a cheque within days. But his application was turned down twice and, determined to persist, Mr Hillier was stunned when the council appointed solicitors to deal with the claim and sent him a 12-page dossier explaining why it was not prepared to pay.

He responded by taking Ealing to a small claims court where a district judge said he was "deeply disappointed" that the council had decided to defend the case in spite of overwhelming evidencein favour of Mr Hillier. "In my opinion this case should never have found its way to an open court trial," said the judge at Brentford county court.

He advised officials to "seriously consider" whether to defend claims for such small amounts in future. The judge said the council was fortunate that the pothole, which was 3.5cm deep, had not caused serious injury. He ordered Ealing to pay £170 in damages, to cover repairs to the bicycle and Mr Hillier's time spent fighting the case.

Today Mr Hillier, who lives in Ealing and regularly cycles to work in Hammersmith, said: "I could not believe it when they turned the original claim down - it would have been far, far cheaper just to pay up.

"I knew the pothole was there but on this occasion - because of surrounding traffic and a bus right in front of me concealing it - I could not avoid it in time. I had to buy a new wheel for £60 and a tyre for £20 and I spent £10 getting photographs for evidence.

"On top of the 12 pages of evidence - in which they said they did not have to maintain the road to 'bowling-green standards' - the solicitors issued a further 18 pages of evidence to the court. It must have cost them hundreds and hundreds of pounds. Ealing talks about being a cycle-friendly council but many designated routes in the borough are hazards." An Ealing spokesman said: "We respect the court's decision. This was a complicated case and since this incident the road has been repaired.

"Last year, we spent a significant amount on enhancing cycle paths and the council will continue to make such improvements to roads and footpaths."