SSPCA volunteers helped 3000 animals in West Lothian alone last year as the cost-of-living crisis deepened.
26.01.2023 - 14:39 / dailyrecord.co.uk
The owner of a taxi firm has told how cabbies are being left out of pocket due to West Dunbartonshire’s crumbling roads.
Allan Wright, owner of Wright’s Taxis in Alexandria, has said he’s seen a number of his drivers forced to fork out for replacement tyres after striking potholes – and has called on people to report them.
His comments come after the Lennox reported that West Dunbartonshire Council was the only local authority in Scotland not to pay out on a single compensation claim for damage caused by potholes.
The local authority said that they were not deemed to be at fault for the incidents, with a spokeswoman saying: “All claims received are assessed by independent claims handlers. Claims are rejected if no fault or liability can be attributed to WDC.”
However, Allan has hit out at the state of routes across the area, which he says have deteriorated after the recent cold snap.
He told the Lennox: “After the last frost we had the roads just seemed to crumble. Potholes have almost doubled in size.
“In Jamestown I had a woman driving towards me who swerved, and I looked to see why and the stank had dropped a few inches. I was talking to a pal who runs a garage in the Vale and he’s said every second person who comes in has damage to his wheels, springs, shock absorbers because of potholes.
“I get the bill in every month for the taxis, and I’ve seen a big rise in the number of damaged tyres.
“Normally we rent our cars out so we pay for bald tyres to make sure they are legal. But the drivers pay for any damage like burst tyres from hitting a pothole or a pavement.
“The problem now is that the roads are so bad now we can’t say that. Some of the roads are unbelievably bad.”
Allan has urged people to report potholes to West
SSPCA volunteers helped 3000 animals in West Lothian alone last year as the cost-of-living crisis deepened.
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