A furiously fed-up motorist got his 6ft son to stand inside a pothole on a country road in Lancashire to prove to council leaders just how deep it is.
And the pictures really speak for themselves.
Aron Cross, 52 – who runs a glamping business near the road – photographed son Lewis, 27, inside the pothole in Wycoller, near Pendle – showing his head and shoulders only just visible above the ground’s surface – and slammed Lancashire County Council in the process after claiming he reported it to the highways department a year ago.
Council leaders have however argued that the road is a “country track bordered by a ditch which people who drive in rural areas will be familiar with”.
Mr Cross responded by insisting the route is an adopted road that is only wide enough for a single vehicle.
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He said he is amazed it had not been spotted during a recent inspection, and even added that he believes a child “could easily be killed” if they were to walk along the track and didn’t spot the hazard in time.
He continued: “I think it’s important to understand that the county council claim to have inspected this adopted highway, only a couple of weeks ago. Obviously, this brings the competence and validity of the inspection in to question and if they failed to see that hole, it is little wonder they missed everything else.
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“The hole was reported to the council a year ago and many times since.
“It is disgraceful.
“The authority has claimed this adopted highway is a rural track which misleads the public [but] the duty of care and responsibility remains the same regardless of whatever you decide to call an adopted highway.”
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He said that both his and his partner’s cars have been damaged by the uneven road surface – as well as a protruding tree on the road – and said he’s even considering legal action over the ongoing issue, adding: “If someone is walking with a pushchair, they’ve got no chance because they won’t see the hole.
“A child could easily be killed if they fall down it.
“It is a big hole. My son is about six foot tall. He had to stand on a rock so he could see above it [and] they still haven’t put any physical barriers around it, which I find shocking.”
In response to Mr Cross, a spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said: “This is a country track bordered by a ditch which people who drive in rural areas will be familiar with. We maintain it to a safe level, and couldn’t find any large holes at the side when it was inspected recently.
“We will ask Mr Cross for the precise location where the photo was taken so that we can carry out further checks and take action if needed.”
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The player celebrations from Stockport County’s League Two trophy presentation are glorious
Danny Jones
If you’re a Stockport County fan, you’ve had a very good year as the Hatters have just been crowned League Two champions and will be back in the English third tier next season – safe to say they’ve been making most of the trophy celebrations.
Players and staff very much included.
Edgeley was filled with flares and even people climbing on rooftops when they officially secured promotion back to League One for the first time in 12 years – the second time they’ve managed to go up in three seasons – and there was a great attendance in Stockport town centre for the bus parade.
But it was last week’s trophy presentation back at the stadium that produced some of the most memorable scenes, with County topping off a season of impressive and often high-scoring performances on the pitch with plenty more pageantry. Cue the music.
We still haven’t stopped laughing at Kyle Knoyle.
From bringing Isaac Olaofe’s ‘Tanto’s on fire!’ chant to life to hammering home puns on names like Fraser Horsfall, no matter how obvious, these are the kind of deeply unserious celebrations we expect from a trophy presentation.
County fan or not, you’ve got to admit it looks like a good party.
It’s moments like these that players, fans and staff work hard all season for; to prat around like muppets in front of their adoring supporters. They even got assistant coach, Clint Hill, in the mix and, as it turns out, he proved to be one of the biggest ring-leaders.
We sincerely hope the Hatters keep trickling out more of these party scenes as we know there’s plenty more that fans would love to watch back.
We’re still yet to see captain Paddy Madden, who won Player of the Month for April, and the gaffer himself, Dave Challinor, who has comfortably secured his legacy as one of the club’s all-time greats.
Challinor and the club have made no secret of seriously eyeing up the Championship and who knows what else at County’s momentum continues to build, especially with a huge stadium redevelopment kicking off soon.
What do you reckon, Hatters – do you reckon a third promotion could be on the cards?
Liam Gallagher says he’ll ‘gig in Lidl’ if Co-op Live still isn’t ready – and they sound pretty game for it
Danny Jones
Following the ongoing palaver with Co-op Live, Liam Gallagher has joked that he’d happily play his scheduled gigs in a Lidl if the arena still isn’t ready – at least we think he’s joking…
With Liam Gallagher having been named as one of the first acts booked to play Co-op Live last year, many are now wondering whether the venue will even by June, with the former Oasis frontman set to play four Definitely Maybe 30th-anniversary sets. That being said, he’s come up with a solution if not.
Vintage LG, we’ll give him that.
Obviously a bit of a tongue-in-cheek quip at the venue being sponsored by a supermarket and convenience store chain, it could have been any other competitor that the ever-witty youngest Gallagher brother picked but it somehow made it extra funny that he chose a budget brand like Lidl.
However, with the 51-year-old already having fun with stunts like voicing the tannoys on the Metrolink last year, for instance, we wouldn’t put it past him to take this joke a little further.
Better still, not that we’re getting carried away or anything but Lidl themselves seem pretty keen on the idea too; they even spent the time to build an entire setlist for the fictional show. Fair play.
Can you imagine? Liam Gallagher swapping the occasional tambourine shake for beeps from a barcode scanner as he moves back and forth on the conveyor belt. We know it’s absolute nonsense and we definitely shouldn’t be even remotely considering it… BUT it’s the stuff of dreams and strange things have happened.
A lot of stranger things have happened this week alone. As for the latest with Co-op Live, the Chairman and CEO of key-backers Oak View Group, Tim Leiweke, issued a full statement sharing his “sincere apologies”and insisting that they understand “there is work to be done to rebuild your trust in us.”
With the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Peter Kay, The Black Keys and more having their gigs pulled by the venue due to numerous issues, including an air conditioning unit falling from the ceiling, fans are understandably fearful that other upcoming events could face delays or general misfortune.
Much like the venue itself, we imagine we’ll be playing catch-up on this whole saga for the foreseeable, but here’s a recap of the story so far: