MECHANICS have fixed hundreds of cars damaged by potholes in Cheltenham.
More than 200 vehicles have needed repairs at one garage alone since the start of the year.
And one car was written off after hitting one of the holes.
Steven Badrock, general manager and owner of Cheltenham garage ABC Services, said the number of cars coming in with damages from potholes had gone up 12-fold in recent months.
He has changed up to 40 tyres, 30 coil springs, 30 shock absorbers, and 20 aluminium wheels each week. A Volkswagen Polo written off this week because of damage which would have cost £3,000 to repair.
Mr Badrock added: "We've seen more cars than ever before, maybe more than 400 cars since Christmas last year.
"This has been going on for about three years now, and things are getting worse.
"Potholes can been really damaging, and something needs to be done as soon as possible.
"It's really bad news for drivers.
"It's is a massive problem in the county, and some repairs can cost up to £1,000."
Rob Connell, owner of Challenge Motors in King Alfred Way, added: "From my personal point of view, there are quite a few roads which are quite harsh with potholes quite deep.
"We got cars coming in with broken road springs, and when we do replace road springs a lot of it comes down to the state of roads."
Gloucestershire County Council has paid out more than £6,000 in costs to drivers in the last six months because of damage caused by potholes.
It has dealt with 410 claims in the county since October 1 last year, with 38 of those successful.
The combined cost of paying out the claims comes up to a bill of £6,186.91.
Drivers can claim for compensation if they can prove that the county council has failed to maintain the highway.
Going over a pothole at speed can cause problems to the tyres, coil springs, shock absorbers and aluminium wheels.
Scott Tompkins, network manager from Gloucestershire Highways, said: "We know there is a great deal more that still needs to be done.
"But our performance on defect repair is very good, with 99 per cent of category one potholes repaired on time, which is why around 90 per cent of highway damage claims are not successful."
