Top News

A furious driver has become a pothole vigilante dubbed "Shefford Banksy" who changed the names of an infamously rough road multiple times in a bid to have the issue fixed.

The anonymous driver switched the names of Old Bridge Way in Shefford, Bedfordshire, to "Wheel Wrecker Way" and "Potholesville" after angry locals complained of "horrendous" conditions on the road. Scores of drivers have had to have their tyres replaced multiple times after driving down the road.

But thelocal councilhas refused to repair the rough stretch, arguing that, since it isn't a public highway, they cannot get involved - prompting MPs to join the chorus calling for urgent action.

• Woman, 87, who fell into pothole and died is pictured as family issue tribute

• Areas with worst potholes in England revealed - see how yours fares

Labour MP for Hitchin, Alistair Strathern, joined angry residents in a demonstration on the road last August. The group were brandishing placards reading: "99 problems and they are all potholes" and others referring to the road as the Bedrock Grand Canyon.

Furious locals say the road has as many as 60 craters measuring as deep as eight and as wide as 12 inches. Dave Price, whose burger van Gour Blimey has been on Old Bridge Way for over a year, said he had to drive in a figure of eight to get his trailer down the road.

He said no one knows who has taken matters into their own hands, with the sign having remained up for the duration he's parked his van in the area. Mr Price said: "No one knows who is putting these signs up. My burger van is opposite the sign.

"I've been here a year and a month and the road has never been any different. It's pretty bad. You would twin it with a road in Gaza at the moment. There's probably about 50 to 60 potholes and some are six to eight inches deep. Some are 18 inches wide as well.

"It's horrendous. The road goes down to Morrisons and people are umming and ahing about whether to use it now. One bloke got some tarmac and filled some holes off his own back. The council have got double yellow lines down there but they reckon it's not theirs. A lot of school children walk past and until one of them gets run over, nothing will happen. You have to do a figure of eight to get down that road."

Local resident Sarah Cooper said one of her friends who drove down Old Bridge Way had to get a tyre replaced shortly after. She said: "We went out for a walk, and when we got back to the car it was knackered.

"She had to get a new tyre. It's really bad. I drive down there fairly often and I have a mental map in my head of where all the potholes are. But if someone comes along who's unfamiliar or on a motorcycle, they could get really badly injured. It's dangerous. Had my friend been a motorcyclist, it could have been really nasty.

"I've lived here since 2008 and I've seen it get steadily worse over the years. It wasn't too bad initially. There have been a few temporary fillings over the years, but I don't know who did it. But the council won't touch it because they say they don't own that stretch of the road.

"It's the worst road around here for potholes and this is the worst it has been. It has only been the last year and a half or so it has got this bad. Unless the whole surface is dug up, it's just not going to work."

On the mysterious identity of the person changing the Private Road - Access Only sign to read 'Potholesville' and 'Wheel Wrecker Way'. Ms Cooper added: "We are calling them the Banksy of Shefford, because we have got no idea who it is. But the signs are true to life."

Cllr John Baker, Executive Member for Finance and Highways at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: "We recognise ongoing concerns about the condition of the remaining sections of Old Bridge Way. However, this portion of the road is not an adopted public highway so does not fall under our management or jurisdiction.

"CBC Highways completed maintenance works to resurface the section of Old Bridge Way that is owned by the Council, and our responsibility. We have formally raised this matter with Alistair Strathern MP, given the limitations of the Council's powers in this case, and we are awaiting the outcome of his enquiries within Westminster."