COUNCIL workmen didn’t let a pothole get in the way of their line-painting.

Barry Fountain, 73, was shocked to discover a new white line had been painted through a large hole as he drove along Chapel Lane, Hadleigh, near where it meets the A13.

The road, and others surrounding it, are riddled with potholes and Mr Fountain feels the hole should have been reported and filled before Essex County Council commenced painting last week.

He said: “It’s ridiculous. They’re just wasting money because when they fill that pothole they’ll have to paint the line again.

“They should have stopped and reported it and all the other potholes. There’s no excuse for putting a white line through it.”

He blames construction lorries visiting the Olympic mountain biking site in Hadleigh for damaging the road surface of Chapel Lane, where he has lived for 33 years.

He complained to Essex County Council in January, but was told the road had been inspected and was in good condition.

The council denied the Olympic traffic had caused the damage and said the potholes were more likely to have been made by drivers using the road as a rat-run to avoid roadworks.

The council has received 36,000 complaints about potholes on roads and pavements across Essex and paid out almost £280,000 in compensation for damages or injuries to motorists and pedestrians over the past three years.