Essex County Council has responded to attempts by Sir Rod Stewart to repair potholes near his home by warning that people who take matters into their own hands ‘are putting themselves and others at risk’.
The 77-year-old singer used his Instagram account to post video of himself and others working on Sheering Lower Road in Harlow, Essex, claiming that ‘no-one can be bothered to do it’.
He said: ‘This is the state of the road near where I live in Harlow and it's been like this for ages.
‘So me and the boys thought we would come and do it ourselves.’
He added: ‘People are bashing their cars up. The other day, there was an ambulance with a burst tyre. My Ferrari can't go through here at all.’
Lee Scott, the council’s cabinet member for highways maintenance and sustainable transport, warned that anyone attempting to repair a road could become liable for accidents, adding that he would ‘endeavour to rectify’ the problem and had requested a report from officers.
He said: ‘You can't take matters into your own hands.’
In a statement, an Essex Highways spokesperson said: ‘While we would like to prioritise repairs to every road, the scale of our network – over 5,000 miles – means this is impossible and we have to focus on repairing defects likely to be detrimental to the safety of our road users.
‘While we appreciate Sir Rod’s commitment and community spirit, we discourage anyone from carrying out work on the roads themselves. Without proper traffic management and other specific safety measures, residents are putting themselves and others at risk.’
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