English town fills potholes halfway

BLOXWICH, England, May 23 (UPI) -- Potholes on a street in Bloxwich, England, were only half filled because the other half of the holes were on private property, town workers said.

"The water is gathering in the other half of the holes, so surely that will ruin the part that has been fixed. What a waste of money," butcher shop owner Keith Clarke said.

Clarke and other town residents said they watched road workers draw a white line down the middle of the potholes and then fill just the half that was on public property, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

Glyn Oliver, traffic and transportation manager for Walsall Council, said government officials were under obligation to care only for public property.

"If we had repaired the pothole on (private land) land we could have been liable should an incident subsequently have occurred," Oliver said.

The Walsall Housing Group, which owns the unfilled part of the holes, plans to complete the repair, said Lyndsey Hunt, a spokeswoman for the housing group.