Cllr John Hanscomb surveys one of the potholes near his home

HOW many council workmen does it take to fill in three potholes less than 15 ft apart?

The answer is two so far and it will take a third to finish off the job.

It may sound like a joke . . . but a councillor whose home they are outside does not think it is a laughing matter.

The holes were on Victoria Road, Heaton which is part of Bolton's busy ring road at the bottom of a drive which leads to Tory Cllr John Hanscomb's home.

He said: "I had noticed these three potholes and one day a chappy came along from the council with a lorry and a shovel and filled it in.

"But then he went away again. A second pothole 5ft 6ins away was left and along with another 14ft 9ins away.

"Then another day, I went out and came back to find that they had been back and filled in the second pothole, but not the one which is 14 ft 9ins away.

"I just couldn't believe it. Surely, if someone is going to come up here with a lorry, a shovel and something to fill a pothole with, they can fill in all three.

"It seems such a waste of money sending someone three times to the same place."

Mr Ray Jefferson, Bolton Council's director of environment, said that Victoria Road is routinely checked on a 26-week cycle.

But potholes are only repaired when they are 40 mm deep.

He said that the first pothole was reported on June 6, but he said that other potholes in the area would not have been routinely checked.

He said: "It can mean that other more urgent work in other areas of the town could be delayed.

"The road surface on Victoria Road is in a poor condition and it is possible that it could have deteriorated between the two visits."

The second pothole was repaired during a routine inspection in July.