Photos recently captured by Christian Lockyer reveal a main road drain on the A39 in Walton, Somerset, completely filled with tarmac. The A39 connects Glastonbury to Bridgwater and has been heavily affected by severe flooding in recent weeks following multiple storms.
Somerset’s roads have suffered extensive damage during the floods, resulting in numerous potholes and an increase in urgent maintenance work. Christian, a local resident, expressed his disbelief: “We’re very badly flooded down here—so don’t block the drains up as well! At first, I thought it was a joke, thinking ‘no, surely they haven’t done this.’ Then I realised what they had done, and the irony of filling in a pothole by filling in a drain is beyond me. What was going through their mind? It’s like the road workers literally went along the road, dumping tarmac without looking.”
He went on to describe Somerset’s roads as “notorious” for being in terrible condition. “There are potholes everywhere—it really needs sorting,” he added.
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In response, a spokesperson for Somerset Council explained the situation: “This was a temporary repair where we were called to attend a dangerous broken drain cover and needed to take urgent action to make it safe for the travelling public. While we always aim for a permanent fix first time, this requires more extensive works to address a structural problem with the drain and it was not possible to do at the time due to high traffic volumes on this busy road. We recognise the concerns over blocked drains at this location and have prioritised a permanent repair which should be completed this week.”