Chelmsford graphic designer creates 'Pot Trumps' online card game

A graphic designer has created an online card game using "humour to draw attention to the problem" of potholes.

Nick Hearne has posted the "Pot Trumps Chelmsford Edition" on Instagram using pictures taken around the Essex city.

The 46-year-old said potholes regularly caused him problems and "it seems like our roads are in a sort of managed decline".

Essex Highways said "resurfacing and road maintenance is now underway" in the county.

Mr Hearne created the cards using photos of potholes in Chelmsford and measured diameter and depth of the road rogues.

He also gave them a "danger rating" and "Pot Trumps rating" in his version of the popular card game, as first reported in The Sun.

He said: "The pothole problem has been getting worse and worse in Chelmsford over the last few years and it seems like Essex County Council aren't really on top of fixing potholes.

"A lot of people have been reporting these through the official channels but it seems like not a lot's getting done so I think it's now time to really shame the council by using something like humour to draw attention to the problem."

Mr Hearne said he damaged his car on a pothole in Chelmsford and being a cyclist was "getting really dangerous" due to the state of roads.

He said: "I had a 'penny drop' moment where I just thought, 'there's so many potholes and they've all got their own unique characteristics'.

"Different shapes, sizes, different strata of road surfaces, different features. Therefore, it'll make a perfect 'Pot Trumps/Top Trumps' set."

Mr Hearne said politics could be "divisive" but the issue of potholes "unites everyone... everyone hates them and they're a nuisance".

Since posting the images on Instagram he said he had been "stopped in the street".

"I was taking a photo of a hole and someone said 'are you Pot Trumps' so it's the first time I've been recognised in Chelmsford which I was quite pleased about," he added.

An Essex Highways spokesperson said: "This year's programme of resurfacing and road maintenance is now underway across Essex, tackling road issues caused by winter weather and demand on road repair crews, who are also the same teams responsible for driving county gritters in cold weather.

"If a member of the public spots a defect on the road we urge them to use the Essex Highways 'tell us' tool to report it and we will inspect it and prioritise accordingly."

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