A DRIVER turned pothole vigilante who was "sick of it " after ten burst tyres in a year is now in trouble after taking matters into his own hands.
Callum Jattontop started using a can of spray paint to highlight the potholes that marked the roads around Stoke-on-Trent.
Callum has now posted videos on TikTok highlighting the state of the roads after claiming to have suffered 10 burst tyres in a year.
But now bosses at Stoke-on-Trent City Council have warned the driver that he could be committing a crime by spray painting the highways.
Cal, from Leek, speaking to the Stoke Sentinel, said: "I’m sick of the potholes in Stoke-on-Trent.
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"There’s nowhere worse for them than Stoke - I travel to Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, and other cities across the UK and none of them are as bad as in Stoke.
“I’ve popped 10 tyres in a year from hitting potholes - especially in unlit areas - because you can’t see them until it’s too late.
"I drive a high-performance car and the tyres cost over £100 each, and the council won’t reimburse me for them.
"I’ve put claims in in the past but there’s no point because each claim takes six months to go through, and they usually make excuses not to pay out because of ‘insufficient evidence’, even though I’ve shown photos and dash cam footage.
“When I did my first video it had over 76,000 views and hundreds of people commented agreeing with me.
"Stoke-on-Trent City Council saw it and commented, asking for the locations of the roads with the potholes.
“A lot of the holes are so deep that they go past your ankles when you stand in them.
Half the time they do a quick repair job and one bad day of weather and it’s back again
Callum Jattontop
“How can we be asked to have MOTs and to pay road tax, and to be safe whilst driving when the council isn’t making the actual roads safe to drive on anyway?
“There’s one pothole that’s been there for more than 570 days - longer than two Prime Ministers have lasted - it’s a joke.
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"When the council fills the potholes they need to do it properly too, because half the time they do a quick job and one bad day of weather and it’s back again.”
Councillor Amjid Wazir, cabinet member for city pride, enforcement, and sustainability, said: "We have seen the video footage of the individual spray painting potholes in the city.
"Anyone caught defacing the highway commits a criminal act, and may be prosecuted.
"Entering an active and busy highway and then standing in the middle of the road is really dangerous, so we urge this person to stop.
"The right and best way to report potholes are here: ww.stoke.gov.uk/roadproblems so the team can prioritise for action - spraying them does not raise the priority.
"More potholes and cracks naturally form during wet and freezing weather as water gets into the cracks in the road, freezes then thaws causing surfaces to deteriorate."
Last year the government announced the long-term funding of local roads maintenance across England, with the redistribution of £8.3billion of HS2 money.
