An investigation is underway after a contractor was spotting repairing potholes in rush hour with just a bucket and no safety measures. 

Rutland councillors Samantha Harvey and Mark Chatfield saw the workman on the B640 Barleythorpe Road in Oakham and relayed details to Rutland County Council's scrutiny meeting (May 1), with Cllr Harvey saying the incident was so unusual she 'thought she was dreaming'. 

Describing the scene as shocking, Cllr Harvey (Ind – Cottesmore) said: "I was returning from Leicester at 7am on a Monday and I was horrified, as a member of the joint safety committee, to witness road surfacing and patching being done on the Barleythorpe Road with no cones, no nothing. Just some chap on his knees in the middle of the road, on an open road, filling in a long stretch."



Two councillors spotted a single man repairing a road with no safety measures (Photo: Google Maps)

She added that she wanted reassurance it had been raised with the contractor "because having workmen in a major highway at rush hour with not even a cone and just a little bucket" was an issue. 

"I did actually think I was dreaming," she added. "I was flabbergasted." 

Cllr Mark Chatfield (Lib Dem – Oakham North) also saw the workman and said it "looked so unprofessional it was untrue". 

The council's principal highways engineer Andrew Tapp said it was not what was expected from the council's contractor, Nottingham-based Thomas Bow, which has had the contract since May last year, having taken over from Tarmac. 

Mr Tapp said said: "From a council perspective, that is not what we expect of our contractor. We have done our own internal investigation, we have made sure our process was OK and fine, therefore we have now left it with the contractor to do their formal investigation. They are aware of our high-level concerns around that and they are taking it seriously." 

Thomas Bow has been contacted for comment. 

Cllr Chatfield said he had witnessed two accidents on Barleythorpe  Road and that the 'road markings were rubbish'. Paul Middleton, Rutland County Council's highways boss, said repairs were deferred last year due to extended works on Brooke Road. 

At the meeting, Mr Tapp gave a presentation about the roads network and how inspections were carried out and the capital programme decided. He said there were 'a number of 'challenges both nationally and locally' and that modelling was forecasting a 'slow deterioration of the condition of the roads'.  

He said the authority was overseeing a 'managed decline' of the road network and inflation was impacting the amount of repair work being done. 

Committee chairman Cllr Ramsay Ross (Lab – Oakham North West) said: "Our programme is improving, but the amount of money we are spending is declining, therefore the roads are continuing to worsen. Is that a fair summary?" 

The engineer replied, "Pretty much, yes". 

Cllr Raymond Payne (Lib Dem – Oakham South) said he acceptance of a decline 'chilling'. 

"There is only so long that this can be managed and the decline can go on before it becomes critical," he said. 

"So, I would like you to tell me how long can you continue to keep that particular action going?" 

Mr Tapp said it was difficult to answer and that the authority struggled to model when the demands on the roadwork changed, such as when there were diversions of the national highways onto Rutland's roads. 

Cllr Lucy Stephenson (Con – Uppingham) said drivers needed to take note of the road conditions. 

She said: "I don't envy Cllr Wise this. There is more highways network than there is money."