Crazy golf signs draw attention to Malmesbury potholes

Ben Thornbury wants to see Malmesbury High Street resurfaced

A pothole campaigner has placed crazy golf signs on a road to highlight its poor condition.

Ben Thornbury decided to place the signs on Malmesbury High Street to attract Wiltshire Council's attention as it "wasn't really listening".

The teenager also posted the images on a town Facebook group and said residents "absolutely loved" his idea.

Wiltshire Council said the signs had to be removed as they could pose a distraction to drivers.

Councillor Caroline Thomas, cabinet member for transport, advised anyone with concerns about potholes to report them using the council's website or smartphone app.

Mr Thornbury said he had received a lot of support from people in the town.

"The council was closing down pothole reports and wasn't really listening or giving a date for when they would resurface.

"Not much was getting done so I wanted to put a sign up and get their attention. They (people) really loved the crazy golf idea," he added.

Mr Thornbury said residents had supported his campaign

The campaigner said the council had contacted him to ask him to remove the signs, which he has now done, but he hopes that his work will lead to the road being resurfaced soon.

"Hopefully we'll get a proper resurfacing, not just patching, and people will be much happier.

"People have had tyres popped and it doesn't create a good impression for visitors when you come into the High Street. It is really bad, the holes are quite deep and are damaging people's cars," said Mr Thornbury.

'Working hard'

Ms Thomas said the council had been working hard to tackle the issue and that it had recently been awarded £3.6m from the Department for Transport's Pothole Fund which it will use to target hotspots.

"When there are increases in the number of potholes reported, we deploy additional resources. Deeper potholes require more urgent attention than others, so we prioritise.

"In addition to this reactive approach we have a program of resurfacing that is based around information provided by our technical surveys," she added.