Pothole Protest: Biker buries helmet-wearing skeleton

A biker fed up of waiting for the council to fill in a massive pothole has staged a set of brilliant photos — of a helmet-wearing skeleton buried in the hole.

Since the spate of wintery weather which hit the UK last month, roads across the country are in disrepair. As a result, Cornwall-based biker Brian Joce has been forced to take action to draw attention to a dangerous pothole on the A3083.

It took Joce a few days to perfect his protest. At first he took a helmet and a pair of gloves, and pretended the pothole was so deep a biker fell into it. The next day, he took some photos of a toy car and a rubber duck, illustrating its size. And finally, he returned on day three with the skeleton.

Joce said: “It started on March 18, when we took a lot of pictures of the road. People on the Lizard Notice Board (Facebook page) were asking where it was or saying ‘Oh, I just drove into it’. So I thought I’d just highlight it. I thought – right, I’m going to have a bit of fun. We have a Halloween skull so we put it in the pothole with a couple of bones, to show we’re waiting for repairs.”

Brian explained that the pothole was first spotted over two weeks ago – and was reported to Cornwall Council almost immediately. But the pothole was only filled in after his images went viral.

On its website, Cornwall Council state that how quickly they fill a pothole depends on whether it is reported to them or identified during a safety inspection, and the priority it is assigned to it.

A spokesperson said: “Safety is always our primary consideration. Potholes reported to us will be inspected and prioritized as soon as practical. If they are considered to be a significant hazard, they will be treated by the end of the next working day. Those that are not likely to be dangerous are added to our list of programmed work and normally treated within six months, often as part of a wider patching or surfacing program.”