Mystery motorist hunted after filling huge pothole with concrete

Highways chiefs are searching for a mystery motorist who poured concrete into a huge pothole that had forced the closure of a road for weeks.

The unknown pothole filler patched up the crater in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, on a road that had been shut since the beginning of April.

Cornwall Highways said the work had been done “by persons unknown, without consent” and urged the local community to share any information that could identify the person responsible, CornwallLive reported.

The top of Tanhouse Road and Bodmin Hill was reopened temporarily after the unofficial repairs were carried out over the first weekend in May. However, Cornwall Council's roads repair company Cormac has now closed the road again until the official repair can be carried out.

The company said there is a backlog of pothole repairs across Cornwall that must be caught up on, with the road due to stay remain closed until 9 June.

Colin Martin, Cornwall councillor for Lostwithiel and Lanreath, described the Lostwithiel pothole as “a perfect metaphor for the way that the entire public sector is crumbling due to underinvestment”.

“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,” he told Cornwall Live.

“Over the past two years, the Conservatives running Cornwall Council have cut the budget for road resurfacing and proactive maintenance.”

A manager with Cornwall Highways told the news site: “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.

“If information regarding who carried out the works becomes known in the community, I would be grateful if details could be shared.”

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said an ongoing drainage issue had caused the road surface to deteriorate and Cormac would now be able to resolve the issue now the weather is warmer and drier. It said the road would remain closed until the repairs are complete.