A driver claims Durham's toll road system is too draconian after suffering more than £700 worth of damage to his van when he came to blows with it.

Sean Kenny, from Tow Law, Weardale, claims he was unaware Durham's toll road, situated on the entrance to the Market Place, had become automated.

So when he approached the barrier system last week and saw it was unmanned he pulled over, saying he believed the ticket warden had left the post.

Mr Kenny saw a driver go through with a ticket and says as he did not know where to get one from himself, he followed the car through the toll.

But he did not get far before the moveable bollard rose from the ground, piercing the underside of his Ford Feista van and causing nearly £800 worth of damage.

Mr Kenny, a pub landlord said: "That thing is there to deliberately main and mangle. It's using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The whole thing is deliberately engineered to maim a vehicle for a lousy £2. I was told I was the fourth one for this to happen to since it had become automated, the last one was Dutch, so he wouldn't even have been able to read the sign. Why can't they use a barrier like normal people?"

The pioneering toll road system aims to cut congestion by charging motorists to use the narrow road leading to the city's castle and cathedral. The bollard allows motorcyclists and cyclists through, who are exempt from the £2 charge, and once drivers have paid the fee it sinks into the ground.

Mr Kenny is trying to claim compensation from Durham County Council, which is responsible for the toll, and refutes the council's response that he was tail-gating the car in front to avoid paying.

Mr Kenny says he would have driven out the entrance as he has seen other motorists do if he was deliberately trying to avoid payment. A spokesman for the county council said they would not be paying Mr Kenny any compensation.

He said: "It's all clearly marked now and clearly says it's automated. There's enough signs to warn people."