Cornwall motorists praise ‘hero’ vigilante being hunted by council for filling in pothole

One local has applauded the mystery volunteer, labelling the council’s lack of action ‘really disappointing’

Cornwall motorists have praised a vigilante who filled in one of the county’s “largest” potholes.

Now being hunted by the local council, the unknown “hero” took it upon themselves to fix it after the road – near Lostwithiel - had been closed for a month.

The individual removed the road signs which had been blockading vehicles to pour concrete into the 10ft-wide space. However, the council later returned and reissued concrete blocks across the area with a warning that the repairs had been completed “by persons unknown, without consent.”

The RAC said it responded to 10,076 call-outs for faults most likely caused by poor road surfaces during the first three months of 2023 (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

It has issued a plea to the community to help detect the unknown vigilante, but many locals have since expressed their gratitude that it’s been fixed. One has spoken out about the lack of council action, refusing to give up the identity of the mystery volunteer.

“I know who it is, it’s really cool what they did”, local Nicky Paull told Mail Online. “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…it is really disappointing that nobody has been out to fix it yet when the road has been closed for more than a month.”

Meanwhile, a number of local residents have been unable to receive post deliveries or bin collections whilst the road has been closed.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Conservative MP for North Somerset, described the situation as “bullying the good citizen” since “the bureaucratic state hates being humiliated.”

By way of response, Colin Martin – Councillor for Lostwithiel and Vice Chair of Cornwall Liberal Democrats – labelled the pothole the result of “short-sighted funding cuts.”

“Correction: The state can’t do its job properly due to short-sighted funding cuts, so the populist politician seeks to create a false division between “the good people” and “the bureaucratic elite””, Mr Martin tweeted.

“In fact they both want to see the back of a failing Conservative Government.”

Elsewhere, he described the situation as  “a perfect metaphor for the way that the entire public sector is crumbling due to underinvestment”.

“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,” Mr Martin told Cornwall Live.

“Over the past two years, the Conservatives running Cornwall Council have cut the budget for road resurfacing and proactive maintenance.”

A small town in Cornwall just over 20 miles east of popular surfing destination Newquay, Lostwithiel is home to a number of holiday homes. Each year, it hosts an arts and crafts festival, a beer festival and a week-long summer carnival.