It also has to have been reported to the council otherwise their argument is how would they know to fix it. Hence it’s a good idea to report as many as possible
I've received a pay out off from National Highways for bust new tyre due to a pothole in Kings Lynn. Took around 4 months, very little hassle. Get photos, get something of known size in the hole (coin, phone, shoe, wheel, etc) to show the depth and width, and some context like position in the road. I've also complained about other holes I haven't hit and they've been filled. Go for the motorbike/cycle safety angle since a single pothole can be brushed off by cars depending on where it is (the last one was down a hill, nearside - lethal to a cyclist at speed if they were being overtaken at the time. Was fixed within a week.)
National Highways are responsible for main routes - Motorways and A roads and local authorities for lesser routes. If a Council can show they inspected the road fairly recently, then that absolves them for responsibilty, unless it has been reported as needing repair recently and they did nothing.
