A mystery graffiti artist has been tackling a town's pothole problem one, er, penis at a time.
Over the past year, large phallic drawings have been appearing around deep potholes in The Avenue in Wivenhoe, Essex, much to the amusement of locals.
The half-mile stretch of road has close to 100 potholes, local councillor Mark Cory said - although only around 10 of the larger ones have actually had the graffiti drawn around them.
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While the town has a pretty upmarket reputation, having previously been included in a Sunday Times list of the Best Places to Live in Britain, residents have been able to see the funny side of the crude markings. Many have even made jokes on social media about 'filling in the holes'.
While many people have found the unusual artwork amusing, Cory - who is leader of Colchester Borough Council - said 'serious action' is now needed in order to fill the potholes, which remain unfixed despite multiple reports to Essex County Council over the past year.
Cory said: "There have been some excellent puns going around, and I'm fully aware of and enjoying the funny side of it.
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"I've made a few jokes about it myself - calling the potholes 'well endowed', and saying that it has 'stiffened my resolve' to get them fixed.
"I can laugh at the new graffiti - but what is more offensive to me is being let down for months and months by Essex County Council.
"There's a serious side to this, too. Driving into Wivenhoe is now an obstacle course.
"I have reported these potholes over the past year, and other residents have, too. They filled some, but left many to grow larger and more dangerous.
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"It is unacceptable that Essex County Council is having to be shamed into action."
Suggesting the powers for highways could be handed over to Colchester Council, he added: "I understand they have a large county to cover, but these holes have been an issue for a year now.
"They must invest properly in long lasting repairs and prioritising roads used most by communities."
Officials at Essex Highways do not see any humour in the graffiti, with a spokesman saying: "Drawing pictures around defects in a road can be both distractingly dangerous to drivers and offensive to passers-by, especially children.
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"It doesn't make any difference to our road maintenance priorities as we deal with defects using a risk assessment process that enables us to deal with the worst problems first.
"Essex Highways will be sending engineers out imminently to do some 'make safe' repairs to some of the potholes in the road.
"Whilst there we will also seek to disguise or remove the offending images.
"The best way for residents to report potholes to Essex Highways is by using our report a pothole website www.essexhighways.org/tell-us/report-pothole.aspx."
Featured Image Credit: SWNS