A cyclist who was injured after he was thrown from his bicycle when a wheel got stuck in a pothole has been awarded more than £4,000 in compensation in the UK, his solicitors said today.

James Tarrant, from Windsor, Berkshire, took legal action against Buckinghamshire County Council following the incident in Bangor Road, Iver, in October 2008.

He suffered injuries to his arm in the accident and had to have a tooth extracted.

The local authority admitted breaching its duty of care and agreed to pay the 62-year-old former groundsman £4,191 to fund his dental repairs, according to Irwin Mitchell solicitors.

On its website, Buckinghamshire County council states that it aims to encourage people to cycle on its roads.

It says: "More people than ever are cycling in Buckinghamshire, with our partner, Cycling England, we share a vision of more people cycling, more safely, more often."

Mr Tarrant said he hoped his case would act as a warning to both cyclists and councils of the problems caused by potholes.

He said: "The council encourage more people to cycle for the good of the environment but when the roads are in such a bad condition it can be very unsafe.

"It's quite ironic they state they want more people cycling safely when accidents like mine happen.

"I had lights on my bike but the street wasn't very well illuminated so I didn't see the pothole until the last minute, by which time it was too late.

"This one was particularly deep and should not have been left uncovered or unmarked.

"The recent cold weather is likely to have opened up more cracks and potholes and I hope my story acts as a reminder to other cyclists of the treacherous conditions on the roads."

Katy Bailey, a specialist in the personal injury department at Irwin Mitchell solicitors, said: "We see more and more cases of injury caused by potholes, whether it's cyclists, pedestrians and even cars.

"Mr Tarrant was trying to keep active and do his bit for the environment by cycling to work but ended up suffering injury.

"The recent snow and ice is likely to have caused a large increase in potholes, making cycling difficult on some roads.

"We hope lessons will be learnt by the council to try and protect vulnerable road users such as cyclists by highlighting potholes or filling them in as quickly as possible to prevent further accidents like this one."