It is a New Year and it should be out with the old and in with the new, but we find ourselves contemplating a problem that shows no sign of abating.

The pothole menace has again been causing havoc for motorists and leaving them with costly repair bills.

Again, the winter weather is the culprit. Last year it was snow and ice and now this year it's excessive rain causing the surface to break up and expose gaping craters.

As our report shows, potholes are appearing at key junctions and arterial routes into the city centre and not just as isolated cases.

We know the city council has, in recent years, increased its spending on resurfacing and that has helped, but with the amount of new potholes, it progress in this area is in danger of coming to a standstill.

Continual investment is needed and the increased attention to this problem must become the norm if the city is to ever get on top of the situation.

Just like the current weather, it never rains but it pours as adding to drivers' frustration was the breakdown of the pothole reporting system on the council website.

The effort to put in extra investment has to be recognised, but still, as we start 2014, the roads need fixing, and now the reporting system needs fixing too.