A FRUSTRATED resident has branded the council’s handling of repair works on a residential road a “disgrace” after a series of shortcomings and bodged jobs.

Mark Hennessey, of Lymington Avenue, has spent the past two years urging Essex County Council to rehabilitate a pothole-ridden street in Great Clacton.

In a bid to force through improvement works, he formed a campaign group alongside like-minded neighbours who had also grown tired with the state of the unpleasant eyesore.

As a result of Mr Hennessey’s efforts, in September maintenance workers closed off the road, which connects Thorpe Road and Chilburn Road, to carry out joint repairs.

They remained at the site for three days, but when the road was reopened Mr Hennessey says he found several issues which had been overlooked.

He said: “There are missed joints and seals and clearly this is a total waste of taxpayers’ money.

“More residents seem to be getting involved with the cause now because we are still getting fed up with the state of the road.

“This is a disgrace on the part of Essex County Council and an example of money being wasted.”

Aside from the half-hearted repairs, Mr Hennessey is equalled as angered by the lack of definitive answers he is being given about future plans for the road.

He says any information he is given is ever-changing and believes council representatives are none the wiser.

He said: “I raised the missed repairs with a councillor and was told that no further visits were due.

“Then I received another email saying that actually more work is planned to cover the bare areas of concrete.

“But in between that I was informed that the initial repair works were just in preparation for what is going to be a complete resurface.

“No one at the council, or even the councillors, seem to know exactly what is still going to happen on the road.”

Essex County Council has now acknowledged that the road does have uneven surface areas, but says it is not bad enough for it to be considered a priority.

A spokesman said:“We have received some complaints from residents, particularly around the noise and vibration from buses and other heavy vehicles as they drive over the gaps between the concrete sections that make up the road under a thin top layer of asphalt.

"We have filled the gaps where material has worn away, using a process called ‘Joint Sealing’.

"While there are relatively lower-level uneven surface areas, this is not exceptional and so not currently a priority for a complete resurfacing."