Found the www.potholes.co.uk site and it contains reference to Section 58 of The Highways Act 1980 that DOES give them the defence I referred to.

http://www.potholes.co.uk/claims/highways_act

Without being devil's advocate, no authority can check and repair every road every day. So if a hole opens up and no-one tells them about it, it isn't their fault.

Here's an article from Biggart Baillie, a large and well-respected law firm that shows the legislation appropriate in Scotland is actually The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.
http://www.biggartbaillie.co.uk/idea...y-for-potholes

The final paragraph is particularly interesting:
"If an accident occurs and a claim is made as a result, even if the roads authority is found responsible for the pothole that caused the accident, the claimant may also be held partly responsible if it is established that he contributed to the accident, for example by failing to take reasonable steps to avoid the pothole or by failing to see a pothole. A finding of contributory negligence would lead to a reduction in any compensation awarded to the claimant."

I guess that goes back to the Highway Code and being able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear?

The weather we have had in the last few years is starting to destroy roads all over the country and there isn't going to be the money to repair them.