A father-of-three suffered “horrific” life-changing injuries after his motorcycle hit a pothole – but council bosses are denying any liability for the crash.

Darren Crooks was riding home from Folkestone on the A260 towards Hawkinge when he hit the crater and was sent flying off his sports bike and through metal barriers at the roadside.

The 37-year-old from Wingham, near Canterbury, needed almost 10 hours of surgery after suffering a fractured right femur and broken bones in his other leg and foot.

He also ruptured ligaments in his knee and “lost a lot of blood” as he experienced “undoubtedly the worst pain I’ve ever felt”.

“It was horrific. I was waiting on the roadside for almost an hour and a half before the ambulance arrived,” Mr Crooks said.

“If it hadn’t been for the help of an off-duty paramedic who just happened to be passing by, it could have ended very differently - I lost a lot of blood.”

Police closed the road – which runs over Sugarloaf Hill – and in the hours after the crash Kent County Council (KCC) carried out an emergency repair of the pothole.

But KentOnline has seen correspondence with Mr Crooks’ solicitor showing the authority is denying liability for the incident on April 16 last year.

The lawyer revealed the council could escape culpability if it could show it had a good system of inspection, maintenance and repair of the road, the pothole was not there at its last inspection, and it had not received complaints about the crater.

KentOnline understands this is the case KCC has argued, having last inspected the road the month before, but the authority says it does not comment on individual cases.

For a successful claim to be made the pothole would also need to have been 50mm deep, but the solicitor says no measurements of the pothole were taken before it was repaired.

Following the crash, Mr Crooks underwent nine-and-a-half hours of surgery at Kings College Hospital in London, followed by four gruelling months of at-home recovery and physiotherapy.

He said: “Today, walking is still excruciating and my physiotherapist said that even though, with time, I will get more movement back, there will be things now that I simply won’t be able to do. It’s like I’ve aged 60 years.

“My three children are all really keen on sports and outdoor activities and it’s affected how I can play with them. It’s like a chunk of their life that’s been taken away.”

In correspondence between Mr Crooks and KCC’s cabinet member for highways and transport, David Brazier, the councillor says he is sorry to hear of his injuries and explains that immediate repair of the pothole was deemed necessary after the accident.

“In this case, the pothole was seen to be requiring immediate repair so to remove the hazard at the earliest convenience,” wrote Cllr Brazier.

“For emergency potholes, we sometimes make an instant repair by quickly filling the hole.

“I appreciate that in your case the pothole was not repaired in a timely manner, and this is much to our dismay.”

Mr Crooks says he has recently visited the site of the accident and seen that the pothole that almost cost him his life has opened up again.

He said: “There are loads of potholes on that road. When I approached the council I thought it would be very clear-cut.

“But speaking to them, it feels like they will do anything to shirk responsibility.”

Data shows potholes and faults in the roads have caused 15 deaths or serious injuries across Kent in the past four years.

The county has the highest number of pothole-related deaths between 2018 and 2022 in the country.

Mr Crooks says he is still now pushing ahead with legal action against the council.

A KCC spokesperson said: “Our priority is always to ensure the safety of everyone that uses our roads and we wish the motorcyclist well in his recovery.

“We last inspected the A260 in March 2023 and attended the site alongside Kent Police when the incident occurred, where clear photographs were taken identifying a small defect in the road.

“While we are not able to comment on individual claims, we recognise the responsibility we have to make sure our roads are safe to use and keep Kent moving.

“That is why we are spending millions this financial year to repair potholes and other safety-critical defects on one of the largest road networks of any local authority in England.

“Anyone who sees a pothole on our road can report it directly to us on our website using our highway fault reporting tool.”