You may have thought that the effects of the cold winter are now over, but not it seems in one particular sector of the automotive market. Ireland and the UK are suffering from something of a windscreen shortage at present, with garages and dealerships struggling to meet demand.

Supplier Auto Windscreens, has increased production by more than 40% at its factory in Chesterfield, UK, where it is currently producing 600 windscreens a day to cope with increased demand.

The freezing conditions left many windscreens with small cracks, which have spread over the following weeks. Added to this problem, the effect of cars hitting potholes is causing sometimes-minor damage to become severe in a matter of seconds.

Opel Zafira, Astra and Vectra screens as well as VW Passat / Golf and Audi A4 screens are said to be in particularly short supply. Advice to motorists and the trade is to have small windscreen cracks and damage repaired quickly, before they have the chance to spread and necessitate a complete replacement.