Campaigner discovers 9cm deep pothole day after 'PR stunt' from leader of West Northants Council

Daventry Banksie – who rose to fame in 2024 by placing multiple signs across the town designed to shame West Northants Council (WNC) into fixing the potholes – is back...with a vengeance.

After several months away from social media, the anonymous campaigner is back on the streets in and around Daventry holding the authority to account.

With the council continuing to firmly blame the harsh winter weather, the authority maintains it is doing all it can to get the roads back into shape as quickly as it can.

Reform leader Mark Arnull was filmed on Saturday morning in a Daventry street on the Headlands estate where contractors Kier could be seen working in the background.

In the video, posted to the council’s Facebook page, Cllr Arnull said: “We are here in Daventry doing some urgent repairs to potholes.

"It’s really important to note this is the coldest time of year. This is not good weather to repair potholes...so it’s peak time where road defects actually occur.”

He explained that the equipment was placing a ‘tar seal’ into the holes to prevent ice and water ‘creeping into cracks and lifting out previous repairs’.

He continued: “Since May last year, we’ve repaired twice as much road surface as was repaired in the previous nine months so that’s sentiment to the hard work of the teams.

“Whilst residents might be frustrated and see potholes frequently occuring, I can assure you that the teams are on it and we really are repairing roads at a rate of knots.”

On Sunday, just over 24 hours after Cllr Arnull had filmed on the Headlands, Banksie published a counter video onto her own Facebook page.

She said: “Here on the Headlands estate in Daventry looking at the work carried out by West Northants Council which they’re so very proud of. “You can just see the big patch they did but how many steps is this – 50? I don't know, 30? Two minute’s walk? “And here we go, look! That van has just swerved around a pothole. Look at these beauties. “Why on earth when they had all the equipment out, would they not fill these? Let’s have a look...oh my word.

“Two at a junction...the PR stunt didn’t quite pay off.”

Banksie measured one of the potholes with a length of 127cm and a depth of 4cm while another right on a junction measured in at 75cm long and 9cm deep.

One of her followers commented: “End of Highfield Road? I reported these they came and marked them and done nothing about them. Fed up of going down them everytime I leave my street!”

Daventry Banksie replied: “Yes. They were in the street doing their 'look at us mending the road, aren't we good' video and 30 steps either way is a pothole!”

WNC is urging residents to keep reporting the potholes on its dedicated app or via Fix My Street.

A spokesperson added: “As weather conditions improve, we are confident we will have the opportunity to catch up on planned repair work, ensuring we continue to prioritise long term sustainable maintenance, which will reduce the impacts of these cold snaps in future years.” Fed up motorists have been calling out WNC over 'disgusting', 'unsafe' and 'dangerous' roads after the authority was given worst ‘red’ rating for how it manages potholes as part of new Government initiative.