A motorist has slammed Surrey County Council for refusing to compensate him after potholes caused his car wheels to buckle.

Henry Beckles was driving along Godstone Road, Whyteleafe, in July 2011, when he hit a series of pot holes.

The three holes, which were across two metres of road, caused the wheels on his Audi A6 estate to buckle.

He took the car to an Audi garage and was quoted £1,400 to repair the damage to the two wheels.

He said: "By the next day I had a flat tyre, that was how deformed the wheel was.

"Bearing in mind I only had the one spare wheel I was forced to go to town with a sledge hammer. I put the hammer to it to stop the leak, but it was still buckled.

"I had to get rid of the car a month and a half after the event, but I took a hit on the sale of the vehicle and I believe in one way or another it needs to be compensated for. To me it all come down to principle."

But when Mr Beckles wrote to the Council about compensation they refused, stating they were unaware of the damage to the road.

A spokeswoman for Surrey County Council said: "We regularly inspect our roads for damage and wear, and also act upon reports from residents.

"We inspected Godstone Road two months before the incident and repaired the existing potholes, and in the time between then and Mr Beckles' experience we received no reports of any defects.

"The courts recognise that, as long as councils carry out a regular inspection programme, they cannot be held responsible for all defects as and when they appear, especially as they can literally happen overnight.

"We therefore rejected Mr Beckles' claim, but if he wishes to take legal advice on this, he is perfectly entitled to."