According to my local paper, in the first 3 months of 2010 motorists made 473 claims to Gloucestershire County Council for vehicles damaged by potholes. All but one were rejected. In the whole of last year the council says 346 claims were made, of which 26 were paid, so their acceptance rate would appear to have gone down by something like 3500% between 2009 and 2010. The GCC spokesman told one complainant that it didn't have to pay because it was fulfilling its legal obligations by inspecting and maintaining the roads. It would appear the council doesn't have the money to pay and is simply stonewalling. Though a lot of repair work has been done, many of the roads around here are still in a horrific state. If you can't afford to replace your tyres, the only answer is to drive down them at 5mph, to the infuriation of anyone less patient than you who is following.