A FURIOUS driver lumped with a £3,000 bill after his luxury sports car hit a pot hole in Southampton is threatening to take council chiefs to court.

Dean Harrigan says his £50,000 dream machine is now stranded on his driveway since hitting a series of craters on a roundabout in the city’s Millbrook area.

Now he is threatening Southampton City Council with legal action after the authority refused to cover the costs of repairs he claims they are liable for to the vehicle he bought just 18 months ago.

Mr Harrigan says the nearside front tyre of his black Mercedes AMG C63 Coupe burst as he drove across a badly pot-holed stretch of Millbrook roundabout close to the turning with Wimpson Lane.

The 43-year-old, from Regents Park, recalled hearing a “big bang” forcing him to put his brakes on a split second before hitting a second pothole.

Mechanics told him all four of the vehicle’s wheels have sustained damage– including buckling and severe cracks – which will set him back £3,000 to fix.

But council contractor Balfour Beatty turned down his appeal for costs claiming they are not liable for repairs to the vehicle.

Now Mr Harrigan has vowed to take the council to court.

He said: “It’s disgusting. The roads in the area are in such bad repair. I pay road tax and council tax and that road has caused damage to my car.”

He says the three-year-old car – which he bought just 18 months ago - has remained on his drive since the crash on Saturday, February 6, at 4.30pm as he fears taking his wife Anna and two-year-old daughter Mia out in case the vehicle is unsafe.

The sales manager has to use the train or hire a car for his work – where often travels up to 12,000miles a year to attend meetings – and the family are relying on using his wife’s VW Golf for other journeys.

He said: “It’s devastating. I’ve saved up very hard for a car that I’ve always wanted. I see it everyday on the driveway but can’t use it because I don’t want to risk my life in it. The cost of the damage is painful but it is also the insult to me. There must be hundreds of people in the same situation as me and if I don’t stand up to them, no one else will.”

Part of the road is believed to have been resurfaced since the incident but Mr Harrigan claims he took measurements of the potholes which he says they are between 40-50mm deep.

A council spokesman said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases, however, we work with our partner organisations on a systematic process of highway safety inspection, defect intervention and repair applied in accordance with our policy.

“This includes our routine inspection of the highway network, alongside the investigation of defects reported to us by road users. In order for claims for compensation to be considered then there would need to be evidence of negligence.”