According to Potholes.co.uk – the anti-pothole campaign website run by Warranty Direct – the recent stormy weather and floods followed by the threat of freezing conditions is likely to deliver “the worst pothole season ever seen in the UK.”

This comes after 2013, a year in which Warranty Direct estimates pothole-related car repair bills cost almost £730 million. A figure that represents a rise of 159% in three years.

Met Office figures suggests rainfall in in some regions of the UK double was the usual December average. With local authorities calculating there were already 200,000 potholes in our roads,  it’s easy to understand why the we’re now facing the worst situation ever.

Analysing 150,000 aftermarket warranty policies, Warranty Direct has calculated that 6.6% of cars suffer suspension or axle damage related to potholes over the last three years – and the number is rising. Last year, the average cost of repair to such damage was £247, (though recent claims as high as £2,700 have been seen.

This works out at a total annual bill for the estimated 2.9 million cars of affected in 2013 of £729,396,000. And that’s without counting commercial vehicles.

The heavy rains are only likely to make this situation worse, as they not only erode existing potholes still further, these potholes will channel water underneath the road surface, weakening the structure even more. And if the road is flooded you can’t see the things to avoid driving into them, either.

According to Warranty Direct, the average cost to a council to repair a pothole is £50. But it also believes there’s is a shortfall in the annual road structural budget of £741 million, which works out at £6.2 million per local authority. So the problem is going to be around for some time to come.

A giant sinkhole has opened in the road and swallowed a car, complete with its 60-year-old driver. The 10ft-deep hole struck in Toledo, Ohio, and emergency services were forced to use a crane to recover the vehicle. The lady occupant had a lucky escape and appeared unhurt.

We rarely experience anything on this scale in the UK but holes in the road are still a major source of annoyance and, sometimes, danger.

We’re talking potholes, the wheel-swallowing, tyre chewing scourge of the motorist, the swarming sworn enemy of the road maintenance department. As road users we all hate potholes and we all probably think we’ve seen some pretty spectacular ones in our time. The question is, have you ever seen potholes like these?