A TAXI driver is counting the cost after bursting a tyre on a massive pothole.

Gary Thomson, 35, was landed with a £50 bill after hitting the crater on the South Side of Glasgow earlier this month.

The hole in Boydstone Road, under a bridge at Kennishead rail station is 6in deep and 2ft long.

He claims the incident caused more than £50 in repair costs after the impact burst one of his tyres.

Gary, of Cathcart, said: "Glasgow's roads in general are shocking, but this pothole must be one of the worst - It is in the middle of the road and impossible not to hit, it's a real danger."

Glasgow City Council repaired the pothole but when we took a photo last week, the repair was clearly deteriorating already.

The Evening Times Pothole Watch campaign is charting the state of the city's roads and has received thousands of complaints from readers about their roads.

We have exposed the damage done to city centre streets by utility firms digging up roads and failing to repair them properly.

Cyclists, and even pedestrians, are often adversely affected by the pitted roads.

Gary reported the January 3 incident to the city council immediately, but has been unable to claim back the cost of the damage.

He explained: "I took photos and contacted the council, who said they would send me a letter to make a claim.

"Two weeks later they have still not done this and I'm £50 out of pocket.

"It's a disgraceful way to treat those who pay road tax."

Earlier this month, the Evening Times revealed that city drivers have had hundreds of thousands of pounds of repair bills after driving on pothole-riddled roads.

The claim is made by Halfords Autocentres which says 8million vehicles suffered steering and suspension damage on Britain's rutted roads last year which resulted in a UK-wide bill for drivers of more than £1billion.

In Scotland, 287,000 motorists were forced to pay £38.7m for repairs. And the store chain said 1900 of pothole incidents resulted in around £256,500 of damage.

This comes after we told how a crater in Springburn's Turner Road can be seen on Google maps. It has since been temporarily fixed.

The city council chiefs are to spend £24m on repairs to roads across the city, adding to the £46m spent in the past three years.

A council spokesman said: "Potholes at the bridge in Boyd- stone Road have been filled in."

The spokesman added that Mr Thomas could make a claim through the council's website.

Let us know where the city's worst potholes. Send pictures to news@eveningtimes.co.uk

rebecca.gray@heraldandtimes.co.uk