It may sound like a potty idea but council leader Paul Clokie reckons he’s come up with the answer to the pothole nightmare on Ashford’s roads.

Cllr Clokie has suggested that people buy a pothole – which they could even dedicate to a dead pet with a plaque.

The Ashford council leader estimates that the severe winter weather has created as many as 100,000 potholes in the Ashford area alone and says the 'purchase a pothole’ suggestion could help Kent County Council’s efforts to fill them in.

The idea has already been tried in Germany and Cllr Clokie feels there’s no reason why it couldn’t be used here.

The councillor, pictured right with his dog Poppy, has suggested that Kent Highways look at a bizarre scheme in which residents can buy potholes for £45.

The idea has taken off in the German village of Niederzimmern near Leipzig where villagers can buy a pothole for 50 euros, which is then filled with asphalt and a metal plaque with the owner’s name or a tribute to a loved one placed on it.

During a discussion about potholes at the Ashford Joint Transport Board meeting on Tuesday, Cllr Clokie said: “In Germany they have solved this problem because they’ve been selling potholes as places to remember loved ones.

“You buy a pothole and then it is filled in along with a marker. I think it’s something Kent County Council should look at.”

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