Taxi driver floats rubber ducks in pothole protest

A man has filled a pothole with rubber ducks in a bid to bring more attention to "horrendous" road conditions in his town.

Shaine Tench put three of the toy ducks into one of Crewe's water-filled potholes to make them "look more pretty" and said that the ducks "were having the time of their lives".

The local business owner posted several videos of road defects in the area online, including one video of him lying in a large pothole, in an attempt to raise awareness of the issue.

Cheshire East Council said it aimed to complete permanent repairs on road defects but bad weather conditions sometimes forced quick, temporary fixes to keep roads safe.

Tench, a taxi driver, said he was inspired to film the potholes after he started hearing from people in the area about the conditions of the roads.

"So then I just thought 'you know what we'll just go and do a little video'... I just laid down in a pothole and made it a little bit funny," he said.

He described potholes in Crewe as "really bad" but claimed the videos had helped to bring the community together and make a difference.

"The more people who talk about these issues the better, and the more people that report these issues to Cheshire East Council, obviously we've got more chance of getting them fixed," Tench added.

"It seems in Crewe it is an ongoing issue compared to what we see in neighbouring towns and villages."

Cheshire East Council said it was normal to see road surfaces issues during heavy rain and freezing conditions and urged people to report potholes online.

A spokesperson said the authority was completing extra works in February and March to help tackle potholes, before main road surfacing programmes began later in the year.

"Our aim is to carry out permanent repairs on road defects but sometimes that's not possible due to factors such as the weather conditions," a spokesperson said.

"Some of the repairs we make are temporary to make sure that the road is safe.

"These repairs may not be visually pleasing but they are reasonably durable and, most importantly, keep the network safe."

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