A motorcycling expert claims bikers “put their lives at risk” when they drive on Kent’s roads due to the amount of potholes.

Nicholas Farley, member of the Kent Advanced Motorcyclists Group, claims one in seven of its members has suffered injury and/or machine damage due to hitting a pothole while riding.

A letter he sent to Kent County Council was read out by Cllr Trudy Dean (Lib Dem) at its scrutiny committee meeting.

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He said: “I am a motorcyclist. I ride in all weather throughout the year and cover between 8-10,000 miles a year on a motorbike in the UK and Europe, but principally in Kent.

“Far too often it seems that judgements about what constitutes a ‘safe’ road are made only from the point of view of the driver of a car or larger vehicle; there does not seem to be any real understanding of how difficult and dangerous it can be to navigate Kent’s roads on two wheels.

“You may well ask why a motorcyclist should bother about hitting a pothole, after all car drivers do it all the time and apart from being shaken up everything is OK.

“The answer is that a pothole that is simply uncomfortable for a car driver, and even unnoticeable to a lorry driver, can cause a motorcyclist to have an accident.

“To hit an unavoidable pothole on a motorbike in broad daylight on a dry road is dangerous; to hit a large, unexpected pothole in the dark, on a wet night, in the middle of a corner, is very unnerving.

“To have your handlebars wrenched from your grip and to be thrown out of the saddle is more than being simply ‘uncomfortable’, it is, at the very least, frightening and it can be very dangerous.

“It is, incidentally, interesting to note how much easier it is to ride in most European countries where the roads are in much better condition and one is able, in general, to rely on there not being a deep pothole hiding round a corner.”

At the meeting on Friday, deputy director of highways Andrew Loosemore told councillors that roads in the county are checked to ensure safety.

However, his team did admit in an asset management report: “The current and forecasted position for road asset management is grave; we are undoubtedly in a prolonged period of asset decline.

“The current annual allocation for planned road maintenance is around £13 million (not including reactive capital pothole and patching spend) and if that remains unchanged we will see significant deterioration in road condition over the next 10 years.”

The majority of councillors in County Hall sympathised with Mr Farley’s comments.

Cllr Matthew Balfour (Con) said “the main problem with this is money” adding the council are making touch decisions regarding all areas of life including hospitals and public health.

However, Cllr Dean claimed the safety of roads is “the biggest issue for residents in Kent”.

She added public health policy is being directed towards keeping elderly people out of hospitals but footpaths are not fit for purpose.

Portfolio holder for highways Cllr Mike Whiting told councillors he and the leader of the council Paul Carter are putting pressure on Westminster to provide more funding for highways.

He added: “My plan is to make a preventative approach which will not only stop this from happening but also provide long term solutions and in return will benefit taxpayers at the end of the day.”