Teen tired of unfilled potholes takes matters into own hands with unique protest

21 February 2024 , 15:35

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Ben Thornbury ‘fishes’ in one of Malmesbury’s potholes while wearing a satirical mask of James Gray, MP for North Wiltshire (Image: Ben Thornbury/SWNS)

A teenager has come up with a unique way to protest about the state of his town's roads - by pretending to fish in the potholes.

Ben Thornbury, 19, decided to take action after seeing a post on Facebook. He bought a fishing rod and chair and started 'fishing' around Malmesbury, Wiltshire. The college student hopes his local council will notice his protest and start fixing the roads. He's also asked local MP James Gray for help and has even been seen fishing while wearing a mask with the MP's face on it.

Ben said: "It seems like a plague across the town at the moment and it got much worse due to the winter weather. So many people have reacted in a positive way and told me thanks for raising awareness. I've had people honking their horns at me in cars going past to say show support.

"Lots of residents I've been speaking to say when even when the council do fill them in they just disintegrate and it keeps recurring. One of the potholes we went to last week is next to a narrow pavement and fills up with water. School kids go to school with wet trousers when cars go past and splash them. If the potholes were filed in this wouldn't happen."

Ben Thornbury demonstrating 'crazy pothole golf' (No credit)

Ben was inspired to start his unusual protest after seeing a fishing meme on social media. "I thought I'd do it in real life. Straight away I ordered the stuff off of Amazon, including a fishing rod," he said. This isn't the first time Ben has used unconventional methods to protest.

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Last year, he turned the town's potholes into a crazy golf course, attracting more than 20 locals to play. Ben also started a community group to keep his town clean when he was just 13 years old. Cllr Caroline Thomas, cabinet member for transport at Wiltshire Council, said: "We appreciate the concern around the number of potholes in Wiltshire and we are repairing roads as quickly as we can."

"Abbey Row is included in our programme of works, and repairs will take place this week. Unfortunately, we've seen an increase in potholes across the country due to factors such as recent extreme temperature variations. We encourage people to report any road defects to us using the MyWilts app so that we can programme works on a priority basis, as per our Highways Inspection Manual.

"We have received an extra £3.6m for the repair of potholes from the government in 2024/25, plus £5.2m committed over the next two years from the Department for Transport's recently announced Road Resurfacing Fund, following the cancellation of HS2. This funding is in addition to the £20.7m the council receives each year from the Government's Highways Maintenance fund to manage the road network in Wiltshire.

Ben Thornbury (No credit)

Ben Thornbury demonstrating 'crazy pothole golf' (No credit)

"We have also allocated an extra £10m over the next two years for a road resurfacing programme that will help to prevent potholes and other highway defects across all areas of the county. The investment will also fund more small, local repairs to verges on rural roads."

"While other councils around the country are cutting budgets, our robust financial position means we can invest much more than the government funding allows into the things we know are really important to people - filling potholes, resurfacing roads and emptying gullies to help prevent road flooding.

"This is all part of our Business Plan commitment to have vibrant, well-connected communities and to invest in our highways network. The changes won't happen overnight but, over the coming months, people in all areas of the county will see more resurfacing work, and more potholes filled as this multi-million-pound investment is implemented."

James Gray MP said: "I share constituents' concerns about potholes in Malmesbury which I regularly bring to the attention of Wiltshire Council who are responsible for roads in our county. Last year we finally saw Malmesbury High Street resurfaced but there is more to do.

"The Government are giving Wiltshire Council a minimum of nearly £82 million in additional funding for roads over the next decade and I will continue to push The Department for Transport for more. Anyone with a concern about a pothole is welcome to bring it to the attention of my office who will flag them with Wiltshire Council."

His office added that Wiltshire Council have announced the resurfacing of the road where Ben launched the stunt - which they said would "take place shortly."

Rom Preston-Ellis