SWNSA 75-year-old fed-up with potholes outside her house decided to fix them herself – with a bucket and shovel.
Jenny Paterson said she’d had enough of the state of the roads near her home so grabbed some tools – despite medical advice not to do any heavy lifting.
She used a rake, spade, bucket and shovel and spent three-and-a-half hours levelling an uneven section of Bridge Street in Halkirk, Scotland.
Mrs Paterson admits it is a “temporary fill-in” but hopes her unofficial roadworks will persuade Highland Council to carry out longer-term repairs.
SWNSShe was joined by a younger neighbour, Jen MacDonald, in clearing grit and gravel from a drain and carrying it in a bucket to fill holes.
Mrs Paterson said: “It’s not fixed, it’s temporary, but maybe it will shame the council into doing something.
“I think what they did was cut a bit out but they never came back and filled it in. I’ve been here four years and it has been like that.
“It fills up with water. Everybody parks there to go to the shop on the corner – big heavy-duty vehicles, everything.
SWNS“It has completely eroded away, great big deep potholes which are always full of water, and I’d just had enough.
“I’ve got damp on that outside wall and I think it’s probably just because the water lies there.
“The stuff was right up on the pavement as well, which is the annoying bit, because the trucks are pushing it up.
“Because it’s all raised and bumpy, and there are bits higher than the pavement, we tackled that with a fork and a spade.
“I tried to level it out and put the grit from there into the holes.
SWNS“We did that initially so that the water would run down to the drain – if it was cleared it would drain off.
”But the water couldn’t get to the drain because the drain is higher than the potholes.
“I classed it as erosion when I reported it to the council.
“We did that and there was still a lot of water and a lot of big deep holes.
“I’ve cleaned out the gully at the front for the last four years as well and we did that again.
”I took all the grit and everything that was in the gully and put it into the holes.
“It looks fairly level now, but it’s not going to stay there – it’s just going to get washed away again.
“I’ve got pot plants all along the pavements, I take a pride in the front of the house.
“It was quite funny because cars were tooting as they were going past.
“I’ve got the knack of leaning on the spade like I see the council workers doing.”
Mrs Paterson added: “I don’t mind working away and weeding and all the rest of it, but that’s beyond me – that’s just a temporary fill-in. I want it done properly.
“I have been in contact with the council. I’ve sent them a long missive.
“Jen came out and gave me a hand and we worked it between us. She’s younger than me.
“I started off brushing the pavement and thought, ‘Och, just go for it.’”
Her son Rory Paterson, 51, a scientist, said: “Halkirk is like everywhere else with potholes.
”My mum is very house proud and the front of her house is all lovely with plants but they never clean out the gutter, they never sweep the roads here.
“She just got fed up. I told her it probably won’t make any difference and she said ‘I don’t care’.
”She has evened it out and has moved all the grit that collects in the storm drain bit.
“It’s just a local person thinking ‘this is ridiculous’. It’s probably going to last about a couple of days and cars will park there.
“She’s 75 and she recently came out of hospital. She was told not to do any heavy lifting, and two weeks later she’s doing stuff like this.
“You can’t tell my mum to slow down.
“When I caught her, she was leaning on the broom like a proper council worker.”
The council has been approached for a comment.
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