Vigilante artist's Rye pothole protest

Employing a tactic used by protesters around the UK, the artist painted the symbols on a number of potholes around the town - including this one in South Undercliff (pictured).

The tactic was reportedly first used by a Manchester-based protester, who claims it spurs local authorities to act faster to fill in problem potholes.

However East Sussex Highways has urged people not to copy the protest.

An East Sussex Highways spokesman said: “We were made aware that someone had painted rude symbols around potholes in Rye, but when we attended the scene, these had been washed away in the rain.

“We understand people’s concerns about potholes but this is not the way to address it. We’d urge people to report potholes to us and we will investigate.

“Our highways stewards carry out regular inspections of all the county’s roads and pothole repairs are carried out in response to their inspections and the reports we receive from the public.

“Last year, we fixed around 30,000 potholes around the county, but our very limited resources mean we have to prioritise work on potholes most in need of repair, according to national guidelines.

“In this case, the potholes didn’t meet these criteria so are not currently scheduled to be filled.

“People can report potholes to us via our website at www.eastsussexhighways.com or alternatively by calling our contact centre on 0345 6080193.”