HUNDREDS of people have reported potholes in Glasgow this year - with more than 600 calls - compared to 162 in the same period last year.

The rise represents a 272% increase and the council says it intends to fill 4500 holes in coming weeks.

The period coincides with plunging temperatures, allowing frost to break up the carriageway surface.

In the city, a pot hole at the junction of Merrylee Road and Clarkston Road was fully six inches deep and motorists were seen being forced to take evasive action to avoid it.

The RAC’s Pete Williams added:”Some of these are wide enough to topple a cyclist or a biker off their bike. It’s extremely dangerous.

“It depends how hard you hit a pot hole but all of these examples have the capacity to tear tyres, damage suspension or badly affect the steering.

“Clearly, local authorities are not doing enough and they will say it’s because they do not have enough money.

“It is estimated it would cost £12 billion to get our roads up to standard. There’s a huge backlog of repairs.”

A GCC spokeswoman said: “There is no doubt that our roads have been affected by the recent and prolonged spell of low temperatures – including the lowest recorded for a number of years.

“This has led to a significant increase in the number of pothole reports we’ve received which, compared to last year, has increased 272% (602 reports this week against 162 in the same period last year).

“That said, in any year we expect to experience a seasonal rise in the number of potholes on our roads over the winter. In response to this we are maximising the number of pothole and patching squads undertaking repairs throughout the city. Over the coming weeks we hope to carry out in excess of 4,500 pothole repairs.”

The RAC revealed that when one patrolman in London turned up to help a motorist, he discovered a line of 12 vehicles which had all been damaged after hitting the same hole.

The repair man found himself at the scene for five hours, dealing with punctures, broken wheels and steering damage.

Pete Williams, the RAC’s road safety spokesman, said:”We are now witnessing a plague of pot holes as a result of the severe weather.

“A combination of high rainfall, followed by severe frosts means road surfaces are crumbling at a significant rate.

“The patrolman who encountered 12 vehicles having his the same pot hole is just one example of a definite rise in damage which we are now seeing.

“Even when he was attending the scene, he could hear cars drive past with punctured tyres. We know one woman had multiple damage, which cost her over £900 to repair.”

Problems have been experienced by other local authorities.

South Lanarkshire Council Head of Roads and Transportation Gordon Mackay said: “The council undertake regular safety inspections on all our roads, defects identified during these inspections are repaired as necessary.

“Freeze and thaw conditions do increase the risk of damage to road surfaces occurring and I would take this opportunity to highlight that road or lighting faults can be reported via the Council’s website www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/roadandlightingfaults “