The harsh weather in Britain has had a major impact on the country's roads with the AA reporting a four-fold increase in insurance claims this year compared to the same time last year.

Potholes are an unwelcome legacy of one of the harshest winters to hit the UK. The number of potholes is thought to have trebled after the heavy snowfalls this year and councils are struggling to foot the multi-billion pound bill to repair them. It costs around £70 to fill each hole.

But it's not just councils paying: the AA say more motorists than ever before are having to claim on their insurance for pothole damage.

The AA commented "This year compared to last year there's been a four-fold increase in claims. Now when you think about it, most people won't claim on their insurance for a pothole because they might actually lose their no claims bonus, so the claims we're talking about are major claims of £1,000, £2,000. It's basically where the wheel, the tyre, the steering and indeed the suspension may have been damaged and it leaves motorists with big repair bills."

Mechanics have reported seeing plenty of people with damaged cars.

In an interview with BBC news on particular Kwik Fit mechanic said: "Well the problem is that if you hit a pothole that can damage your wheel rim, also blow the side of your tyre or even cause the tyre to bulge. Not only that you could also see that the tyres will start going down slowly which is not detectable instantly by the driver."

Councils have already paid out £47 million in compensation for damaged cars in the last twelve months and many say they just don't have the money to even assess the problem, let alone begin to pay for it.