A MAJOR UK motoring organisation has warned of the safety risks involved in DIY pothole repairs after Sir Rod Stewart decided to take the job on himself.

The 77-year-old singer posted a film of himself fixing potholes on a road near his home and complaining about the state of it.

Videos on the 77-year-old singer"s Instagram account showed him shovelling gravel in Harlow, Essex, claiming "no-one can be bothered to do it".

In one, he said: "People are bashing their cars up. The other day, there was an ambulance with a burst tyre. My Ferrari can"t go through here at all."

But the RAC has cautioned members of the public against attempting to carry out their own road repairs like Sir Rod Stewart.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “As frustrating as pothole riddled roads can be, drivers should not be tempted to repair surfaces themselves," he said. "Firstly, there are safety risks associated with working in a road. Secondly, local authorities will have their own procedures and standards on how best to repair the road and a DIY job is unlikely to conform to this.

The Herald:

"In addition, taking matters into your own hands could make you liable for any defects and damage that subsequently occurs, both to the road surface and to other vehicles. The best thing drivers can do is to report potholes and other defects to the highways authorities as soon as possible so they can be fixed properly.”

Lee Scott, who is responsible for highways maintenance at Essex County Council has also warned that anyone attempting to repair a road could become liable for accidents while promising he would "endeavour to rectify it".

"All road repairs have to be done to a professional level or the person doing it could become liable for any problems or accidents," he said. "You can't take matters into your own hands. People must always report potholes to the council and we will fix anything that's dangerous."

He said he would be happy to arrange a meeting with Sir Rod to discuss the issue.

Sir Rod's post has had nearly 90,000 likes in four days and prompted comments praising his actions.

Among those supporting him was Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood who replied: "Bravo Rod!"

Sir Rod bemoaned the damage poor road maintenance could cause to his Ferrari.

“People are bashing their cars up,” he said. “The other day, there was an ambulance with a burst tyre. My Ferrari can’t go through here at all.”

“We are filling in the holes ourselves while millions and millions of pounds are being spent on the M11,” he added.

Sir Rod wore a tracksuit and hi-vis tabard to do the shovelling, after he was mocked on Instagram for wearing all-white to clean out his garage during the first lockdown.

The Celtic and Scotland-daft singer released his latest album The Tears Of Hercules in 2021, which peaked at number five in the UK albums chart. He is a member of the US Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and was knighted by the Queen in 2016.

A spokesperson for Essex Highways said: “Whilst we appreciate Sir Rod’s commitment to improving his community, we would discourage anyone from doing work on the roads themselves because without proper traffic management and other specific safety measures, residents are putting themselves at risk.”

Councils have taken different approaches to resolving the pothole headache.

Eight years ago Devon County Council admitted it didn't have enough to repair all our roads so to help with the problem - as part of a trial - community road wardens carried out some of the repairs.

The Community Road warden scheme allowed members of the community to do a wide range of highway work on minor roads.

First introduced in 2014, the pilot saw volunteers repair almost 200 minor holes.

Devon has the largest road network of any highway authority in England and at the time it cost more than £60m a year to maintain their present condition.

In other areas residents have tried to shame councils to take action.

Six year ago, one furious has tried to embarrass council bosses into fixing potholes – by painting a 15ft penis on the road.

Louis Nelson, 36, from Carluke, South Lanarkshire, spotted the graffiti whilst driving in the Scottish borders.

The graphic image was permanently spray-painted onto Granites Road near the town of Innerleithen.