Floating rubber ducks added to flooded pothole in Staffordshire

Villagers fed up with a "nightmare" pothole have added rubber ducks to the crater after it flooded in rainfall.

Residents of Elmwood Drive, in Blythe Bridge, Staffordshire, said the pothole had grown over several months and are angry no-one has yet repaired it.

Amy Kingsbury said it was dangerous and had outgrown the markings previously sprayed around it by the local council.

Staffordshire County Council said it was aware of the issue and had recently spent a further £5m to tackle potholes.

Ms Kingsbury, 32, said the road was a nightmare to drive down.

"People have been out to inspect it and spray-painted around the edge.

"But now it's gone far beyond what they spray-painted initially and they haven't been back out since," she said.

"The pothole's got big quickly - it's dangerous. Eventually, someone's going to end up popping a tyre or doing damage to their car."

Villagers have begun posting images on social media of the pothole alongside various amusing props while they wait for the road to be repaired.

Sarah Grattage, 47, who posted a picture with Gandalf from Lord of the Rings captioned "you shall not pass", said it was "a bit of light relief".

"It's just really entertaining to be honest. It's just a bit of light relief from everything going on in the world and has just seemed to spark a conversation in the community, which has been really good," she said.

Jack Milner said it had been reported to authorities but residents were still waiting for a repair.

Deputy leader of the county council Philip White said: "Good roads are important to everyone and potholes can be a frustrating problem for motorists - especially at the end of winter when the roads have taken their worst punishment and when repairs are difficult to complete.

"This is why we recently announced an extra investment of £5m in pothole repairs, on top of an extra £30m investment in larger repairs and resurfacing of roads and junctions over the next two years."

All reported issues were inspected as soon as possible, assessed for their severity and any defect which posed an immediate risk was dealt with as a priority, he added.

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