Highways England chief hunt phantom pothole filler after enraged motorist pours concrete into huge crater that had closed road for months
- The work was carried out by a mystery motorist in Lostwithiel, Cornwall
- But Cornwall Highways said the concrete pouring was done ‘without consent’
Highway chiefs are hunting a phantom pothole filler after an enraged motorist poured concrete into a huge crater that closed the road for months.
The work was carried out in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, as the mystery volunteer decided to patch up the road which has been shut since April.
But Cornwall Highways said the work was done ‘without consent’, according to The Mirror.
The top of Tanhouse Road/Bodmin Hill was temporarily reopened unofficially after repairs were carried out on a large hole.
Colin Martin, Cornwall councillor for Lostwithiel and Lanreath, said: ‘The latest is that the road has been closed again and will remain closed until it is ‘properly’ repaired by Cormac, but they say this could be weeks away as all available teams have been diverted to filling smaller potholes on roads which are still open.
Highway chiefs are hunting a phantom pothole filler after an enraged motorist poured concrete into a huge crater that closed the road for months
The work was carried out in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, as the mystery volunteer decided to patch up the road which has been closed since April
‘Over the past two years, the Conservatives running Cornwall Council have cut the budget for road resurfacing and proactive maintenance.’
The road is now due to remain closed until June 9.
Councillor Martin added that the Lostwithiel pothole was ‘a perfect metaphor for the way that the entire public sector is crumbling due to underinvestment’.
A manager with Cornwall Highways said: ‘Any work carried over the weekend was not carried out by our team at Cornwall Highways, and therefore we assume that works carried out to the highway surface, and any removal of the road closure signs and associated temporary infrastructure was done so by persons unknown, without consent.
Councillor Colin Martin (pictured) said that the Lostwithiel pothole was ‘a perfect metaphor for the way that the entire public sector is crumbling due to underinvestment’
‘If information regarding who carried out the works becomes known in the community, I would be grateful if details could be shared.’
They added that road closure signs have been put back in place.
‘At the present time, we have a significant backlog of pothole defects across the network and our resource is allocated to this as a priority over other planned works.
Source: Read Full Article
