With national pothole day on the horizon, there's no better time to educate ourselves about the ins and outs of every road user's arch enemy.

The annual awareness day, every January 15, was created to spread understanding of the ever growing problem plaguing our streets.

Created by Mark Morrell, aka 'Mr Pothole', and 'Street Repairs', both passionate road campaigners, the aim is to encourage people to report incidents and empower the public to deal with the issue.

So what causes potholes? What should you do if you hit one? And how can they be repaired? Strap in!

What causes potholes?

Potholes are a natural phenomenon.

Caused by by the expansion and contraction of ground water which has entered from underneath the pavement, potholes are hard to prevent.

When water freezes, it expands, causing the pavement to crack and weaken. Over time the cracks expand as the process repeats, weakening the road further.

As the weight of cars passes over the weakened spot in the road, pieces of the road break, creating the infamous pothole.

What should you do if you hit one?

If you are unlucky enough to hit a pothole the first step is obvious - check for damage.

Some damage may not be obvious straight away, so keep an eye out for any vibrations, your steering wheel not centring properly or the car pulling to one side.

The AA advise that if any of these happen you get your car checked by a garage or tyre specialist as soon as possible.

If you intend to make an insurance claim, make sure you properly note the location of the pothole.

Report the pothole to the council, and then make your claim to them.

If they were already aware of the pothole, the council will be obliged to cover the cost incurred in repairing your car.

And how are they repaired?

It's the council's job to repair potholes, but how do they do it?

Potholes are filled using liquid asphalt.

After the crater is cleared of water or debris, the hole is packed with material that can be compacted tightly, such as rocks, clay or crushed concrete.

Now you can pour in the asphalt.

Once the asphalt is pushed down and properly compressed, the hole is covered and left to set.

Job done!

There's a slight chance other news may dominate the news agenda on January 15 (Theresa May's meaningful Brexit vote) but don't forget about national pothole day.