Taxi drivers protest pothole 'nightmare' in Glasgow

Dozens of taxi drivers have protested outside Glasgow city chambers over the "horrendous" state of the city's roads.

The motorists, who say their cars have been badly damaged by reported potholes, sounded their horns on a slow drive-by on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile campaigners gathered on George Square calling for the council to declare a "pothole emergency".

The council said it expects to have completed around 175 road re-surfacing projects by March this year.

The authority doubled its budget for road repairs last year to help surfaces recover from what it described as the most damaging winter in over a decade.

This winter however has been milder, with temperatures in December above average across the UK apart from northern Scotland, according to the Met Office.

The council said it had not seen the same post-winter rise in pothole complaints this year compared to last.

• Drivers and garages facing 'pandemic of potholes'

• Council doubles road budget for pothole repairs

• Scotland on course for coldest December in a decade

'Five tyres replaced since December'

Eddie Grice, 39, spoke to the BBC from his taxi, showing parts of his car that have fallen off as recently as last week because of potholes.

Mr Grice, who is also the general secretary of the Scottish Private Hire Association, said the city's roads are a "nightmare".

Eddie Grice drives a taxi in Glasgow and is the general secretary of the Scottish Private Hire Association

He said: "It's been going on that long now, the damage being caused to our cars is happening on previously reported potholes. So they [the council] are failing to live up to their statutory duties now.

"It costs a fortune, I've went through five tyres since the start of December. I've lost a drop link. I've got bits of my car sitting in here."

Another driver said: "We're all driving about trying to do our jobs, our cars are getting damaged and Glasgow City Council don't think they have to respond to the people of Glasgow."

Road budget halved

Councils across Scotland are in the process of setting their budgets for the next financial year against the backdrop of a surprise council tax freeze promised by the SNP.

Argyll and Bute Council voted against the freeze, setting a 10% increase on council tax, but Glasgow is among the local authorities which will deliver it.

Glasgow's budget will see £6m spent on improvements to roads, footpaths, cycleways when last year the road budget was £12m.

Unions have protested against planned budget cuts to other services in the city, saying they are already "on their knees".

Jamie Canavan, who is the founder of Potholes Make Glasgow, said he wants to see the council spend more on road maintenance.

Jamie Canavan founded the campaign group Potholes Make Glasgow - playing on the 'People Make Glasgow' campaign which launched before the 2014 Commonwealth Games

"Everybody is making noise," he said. "We've had accidents - accidents with kids in cars.

"Prices are going up nowadays. It's costing more to repair a car than even own a car."

A spokesman for the city council said there had been an "exceptional rise" in pothole reports last January, but not the same level this year.

He said: "To address the particularly severe winter last year, the carriageway maintenance budget was increased to £12m for this financial year to improve roads condition throughout the city and we expect to have completed around 175 roads resurfacing projects by March this year.

"Our responsibility is to ensure we have in place an appropriate system of road safety inspections and repairs that tackles the most dangerous faults as a matter of priority.

"We always seek to undertake first-time permanent repairs wherever possible and we currently have four crews dedicated to repairing potholes on a daily basis.

He urged members of the public to report any road faults to the council via the MyGlasgow app or social media channels.