Renault insists that nothing is wrong with its Clio II model after customers have experienced the car's bonnet popping up while driving.

The French manufacturer said it has liaised fully with the independent governing body, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), after the media highlighted Clio models experiencing the problem.

After investigating into the matter, Renault and VOSA concluded that the bonnet catch mechanism of the Clio II has ‘no design or construction defect’.

Renault said the problem was due to ‘poor maintenance’. Renault refused to comment on what ‘poor maintenance’ was, or how many Clios were affected in the UK.

All Clio II owners will be contacted by Renault and invited to their nearest Renault dealership for inspection. If needed, corrective work will be carried out at no charge to the customer.

“We have closely monitored and analysed every case we have received, and a dedicated task force of Renault’s worldwide experts has investigated this issue, including carrying out vehicle inspections. We also kept VOSA fully updated throughout,” said a Renault spokesperson.

A couple driving a Clio II told of how the car's bonnet flipped up so violently that it smashed the car's windscreen as they over took a lorry at 60mph.

Kirsty and Evan Davies, from Lower Walmer said they were 'utterly petrified'.

Mrs Davies said: "You couldn't see anything out of the windscreen at all and Evan had to try and judge where traffic was to get back in the slow lane. "There was no hard shoulder so we had to drive slowly with our hazard lights on until we got to a slip road."

The BBC's Watchdog programme has twice featured the problem of bonnets opening on Renault Clios, and producers claim more than 250 UK drivers have contacted them with similar complaints.

Mrs Davies had difficulty closing and locking the bonnet before the incident, but insisted it had been fully closed when they set off.