An ambitious plan to blitz thousands of potholes will see crews of road workers going flat-out in an attempt to rid roads of the menace.

Renfrewshire Council aims to fill 6000 potholes across the area in just 20 days, concentrating on the rural roads around the greater Paisley and Renfrew areas.

There is no recognised world record for pothole filling, however the campaign by Renfrewshire compares favourably with the efforts of crews in several north American authorities, who annually engage in a pothole filling frenzy after the winter has wreaked havoc with the tarmac.

Councillor Marie McGurk of Renfrewshire Council's Environment and Infrastructure board got the attempt under way yesterday by applying the first shovelful into a hole in Paisley.

Over the next 20 days, if the 28 workers are to hit the target, they will need to fill 37 holes an hour at an average cost of £33 per hole.

A wetter than normal winter has led to more potholes on the roads, leading councillors to decide that a targeted campaign was needed.

In north America the harsh winters cause thousands of potholes to appear. Come spring, dedicated crews are sent out to blitz the roads with tarmac.

This year in Seattle, the municipal authority claimed it has set a new record by filling in 1589 potholes in a week. If the Renfrewshire target is to be achieved it will need to fill at least 1500 a week.

In Chicago, where 18 crews took to the streets, they filled 2000 a day, or just in excess of 100 per crew. Renfrewshire is using just four crews of seven workers, who will manage at least 75 holes a day. Renfrewshire Council is spending £200,000 on the campaign, working out at £33 a hole and using 800 tonnes of tarmac if the target is achieved.

Ms McGurk said, "The wet winter did serious damage to our roads and the rural routes in particular.

"In the past we've had to concentrate all our efforts on the main roads where there are high volumes of traffic including heavy lorries.

"These routes are vital to Renfrewshire's economic existence.

"Over the next few weeks we're spending £10,000 a day filling the potholes that have sprouted on the rural routes over the winter. There has been a definite increase in rainfall and it has a serious effect on our roads.

"Keeping Renfrewshire's roads in good condition is a full-time job and the council works very hard on maintaining them.

"In the past three years we've gone up in Audit Scotland's road rankings from 25th place to 12th out of Scotland's 32 local authorities."

Potholes are more likely to appear during the winter as frost cracks the road surface and rain floods the cracks. As cars and lorries pass over the cracks it breaks up the damaged surface.

According to the Guinness Book of Records there is no record for filling in potholes within a set period of time.

A spokesman for Renfrewshire Council said: "We are not aware of any record for this, but it would be nice if we could set one."