APPLYING lipstick, sipping a coffee and eating a yoghurt ... all simple things you might do while beingdriven in a car.

Slip-ups and spills ... yes, it's crater Glasgow!

APPLYING lipstick, sipping a coffee and eating a yoghurt ... all simple things you might do while beingdriven in a car.

But I was on a mission as part of the Evening Times Pothole Watch campaign. Could I do each task while travelling over some of the estimated 18,000 potholes on Glasgow's streets?

So, accompanied by a photographer, a video journalist and packing travel sickness pills I set out on my experiments.

THE LIPSTICK TEST: Shake, rattle and roll out lippy slip-up

MY next task was to touch up my make-up while travelling.

That's usually pretty easy provided there are no sudden movements.

So I flip down the window shade and roll up my MAC lipstick in the mirror as we prepare to turn from Hope Street into West George Street.

But as I put it to my lips a big pothole on the corner means I end up looking like a right clown.

As the lights change and we move forward.

The car bounces right into a big hole, leaving me with a bright pink streak across my cheek.

The group of office workers standing nearby might be amused but I'm not.

Although no real damage was done (except to my dignity) potholes on junctions could easily cause accidents to unaware drivers ... and make-up artists irate.

THE YOGHURT TEST: From a cream treat to culture shock

NOW it was time for a trip to pothole central Renfield Street.

One of the city's busiest roads, 230 buses travel down it every day.

And the high volume of traffic means the road surface is in a dreadful condition.

Two months ago the Evening Times counted 15 large potholes from the top of the road all the way down to Gordon Street, plus a couple of sizeable holes around the edges of drain covers.

I tentatively open a yoghurt container as we rumble down the street.

I start to eat it. But, as we approach the junction with Gordon Street near Central Station, the car surges into a pesky pothole and disaster strikes.

My yoghurt might be low-fat but it had a high impact on my dress.

On closer inspection this particular pothole is on the edge of a drain cover. The road is crumbling around it. Surely that's not safe?

And now, with coffee stains and yoghurt smears down my dress. I look like I've been caught in the middle of a food fight and, despite trying, I can't clean the smudge of lipstick from my cheek.

And I certainly feel like I have been on the big dipper.

But, as well damaging your dresses and your dignity, potholes can be dangerous.

We've heard dozens of horrible hole tales from readers since we started our campaign in February.

From the story of a GP whose car suffered £700 worth of damage after bouncing into a hole to the dance teacher forced to take time off after stumbling into one, potholes can have a real impact.

We're demanding action from council bosses and more cash from Holyrood to get Glasgow's pot holes fixed.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "Extra resources have been dedicated to tackling potholes in Glasgow. Our temporary patching squads have been working extended hours and at weekends to deal with as many potholes as possible, especially in the sensitive city centre areas.

"We also have a major resurfacing programme, but that work is programmed on a longer term basis.

"The concerns raised here will be passed to our teams in land and environmental services department."

THE DRINKS TEST: Coffee 'jar' chaos

BUMP and I'm in a latte trouble with cup spill WHAT happens when you drink coffee in a car and add a pothole? Answer: Disaster. I sip a (thankfully lukewarm) cup of Costa while travelling along Renfrew Street. All is fine until my driver hits the junction with Hope Street ... and a massive pothole. It had been raining earlier so it was filled with water and difficult to spot but this crater is so deep I'm surprised there weren't a school of carp swimming in it. As the car's tyres descend into it I surge forward ... as does my coffee. All over me. To fill in all of Glasgow's potholes will cost £110million, the council reckons. But the look on my face must be priceless as I surveyed the damage to my dress, although it could have been much worse had my drink been hot.

Just part of our fight for a better deal

OUR plea for the city's potholes to be repaired is part of our Ripped-Off Glasgow campaign.

This drive aims to win the city a better cash deal to reflect its status as Scotland's economic powerhouse.

We've highlighted the shortfalls between Glasgow suffers compared with Edinburgh when it comes to roads, art galleries and museums and business rates.

Edinburgh's museums, with national' status, get £41million-a-year extra funding while Glasgow gets nothing.

Plus, this year Glasgow handed over £75m more in business rates than it gets back from the central Government budget.

And although the city's main roads are among the most heavily used in the UK, it has to spend a larger amount of its budget on maintenance because resources for roads' maintenance is based on road length and not volume of traffic.