16 May 2023 , 08:13
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Angry locals have praised the "hero vigilante" who has filled in a massive pothole to reopen a road after it was shut for a month.
The mysterious pothole filler poured concrete into a 10ft wide crater that forced a road near Lostwithiel, Cornwall to shut at the beginning of April.
Council highway bosses have since returned and left concrete blocks saying the work was done "without consent" and have urged the community to identify the individual responsible.
However, residents have refused to give up the mysterious pothole filler in case they are charged with criminal damage.
Since the road was shut many were left cut off from important services such as rubbish collection and post deliveries.
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Now the council have put concrete blocks on the road (NEIL HOPE/APEX)Nicky Paull, 67, told the MailOnline: "I know who it is, it's really cool what they did. They did it out of the goodness of their heart because the road closure was badly impacting people locally.
"I'm intrigued to know why they want to know who repaired it - is finding them a good use of public money?"
Another resident compared the individual to a Cornish Piskie - a mythical creature from local folklore that is said to bring people good luck and help.
Roger Mildren, 78, added: "The person who filled it is a hero. Look at the dire situation I have been left in - I haven't had a bin collection since this started and I get mail about once every two weeks.
Colin Martin, Cornwall councillor for Lostwithiel and Lanreath, visited the road (NEIL HOPE/APEX)"My wife died on May 5 and I have not had any of the paperwork I need for that, I also didn't receive a letter telling me I had an appointment for bowel cancer surgery."
The road is now set to be closed until June 9 as Cornwall's Council's roads repair Cormac says it will not get to it until it catches up with a backlog of pothole repairs.
Colin Martin, Cornwall councillor for Lostwithiel and Lanreath, visited the road, which is now due to remain closed until June 9, and 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.
"Over the past two years, the Conservatives running Cornwall Council have cut the budget for road resurfacing and proactive maintenance.
"As a result of this short-sighted decision, potholes are now appearing across Cornwall faster than Cormac can fill them in.
"The Government has now provided extra funding to tackle the backlog, but there's only so much work each person can do in a day, so bigger jobs like this one in Lostwithiel are being put onto an ever-growing waiting list.
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"The overall result is that taxes remain high, no real savings are made, and the state of our roads has never been worse."
A council spokesman said: "There is an ongoing issue with drainage at this site which has led to the deterioration of the road surface. These drainage issues have meant that any surface repairs during the winter have been temporary.
"As we are now moving into warmer and drier weather, Cormac [the maintenance company] can programme in the permanent drainage and surfacing repairs needed at this site."
The Mirror contacted the council for a comment.