A car insurance group has stated that this month it has witnessed a surge in car insurance claims due to the winter weather.

Hundreds of motorists have been involved in road accidents because of the snow and ice on Britain’s roads.

A study conducted by the group found that nearly three-quarters of drivers (72%) said unexpected ice was their worst driving nightmare.

The claim line in Cardiff had one of its busiest weeks ever with calls almost double those over the same week in 2008.

Paul Jones, who runs the claims centre said : “Fortunately, our snow didn’t come until later in the week so on the Monday, our staff were able to get to work. That was just as well because the phones simply didn’t stop ringing and by lunchtime, we had taken 60% more calls than we expected and we had registered nearly 900 claims by the end of the day.”