A MAN became so fed up waiting for the council to repair potholes in his road that he resorted to fixing them himself with Lego.

Jim Walshe, 61, has been repairing potholes in Greenacre Road, off Lache Lane, Chester, with Lego bricks and minifigures.

Echo:

One of the potholes 'repaired' with Lego

But now Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) have told Jim that they may lower the depth a pothole needs to be to action a repair to the height of one of his beloved Lego Minifigures.

Jim, a photographer and avid Lego collector, has combined his hobbies and has been posting photographs of his repair work on Twitter.

Jim told the Standard: “‘Lego bricks are very durable and this means I don’t have to wait for the council to come out.

“I don’t think I’ll have any luck getting the council to come out but I thought at least I could combine my two interests and make people smile.”

Jim first alerted Cheshire West and Chester Council to the holes in Greenacre Road on January 2 when he called the authority’s pothole hotline.

Although one hole was filled, and another repaired on a subsequent visit, Jim says the largest hole is still there.

He added: “The hole is about two feet across and two and a half inches deep and is right on the junction with Lache Lane.

“If they just came out and fixed the big hole I would be happy.”

Echo:

Jim Walshe adding bricks to one of his repairs

There is some good news for Jim as the council are considering changing the minimum depth a pothole needs to be for repair to the height of a Minifigure.

The Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Wellbeing, Louise Gittins said: “Our Highways team enjoyed seeing Mr Walshe’s very creative photographs. The potholes in question were inspected in early January when they were first reported. Some deeper potholes were repaired a few days later, however, the remaining defects were added to our system to be monitored. 

"Presently the minimum depth for a pothole repair on this type of road is 50mm but this is currently under review and may be changed to 40mm - which co-incidentally is the same height as a Lego minifigure, so the theme is very appropriate. 

"We have continued to monitor the potholes in Mr Walshe’s street and I’m pleased to let him know that they are scheduled to be repaired this month.” 

In recent weeks, Jim has become creative with his photographs. One image shows two astronauts and a lunar module with a pothole standing in as the Moon.

Jim tweeted: “Neil and Buzz on the Sea of Tranquility? No, it’s Bob and Ted from the #cheshirewestandchester #highways dept exploring the #craters in #Greenacre Road #Chester.”

One image shows Lego minfigures, or Minifigs, using a red and white measure in a pothole that the council reported as fixed.

Jim tweeted: “Stats say #CWAC #fix 94% of #potholes. Here is a #categoryone #pothole they record as #fixed. Great stats though.”

Cllr Stephen Burns, the council’s deputy chairman, responded to Jim’s tweets with some advice, tweeting: “The stats are not Cheshire West and Chester Council stats, they are from an independent source covering 214 local authorities. If this particular pot hole repair is not up to standard, Twitter is not the best place to report it for further action. Report via CWaC or your councillor.”

Echo:

Photo: Jim Walshe

CWAC classify a pothole as 'category 1' if it's more than 50mm deep, and others as 'category P' otherwise. The stated aim is to repair category 1 potholes within 10 days of them being reported.

In another tweet Cllr Burns saw the funny side of Jim's campaign.

He tweeted: "Cwac sit at 17th out of 214 local authorities with a 94% fix rate of reported pot holes. That league table is from an independent report. Would rather have 100% and that’s the goal. However having said that, this photo is hilarious! Nice one."

On hearing that the council planned to repair the holes in his street, Jim concluded: "That's great news. My Lego Minifigures are looking forward to a well-earned retirement."