“Well, We’ve Spent All Our Money On Rainbow Flags…”

“…we could put one of those on it if it helps?”

Residents claim the huge crevice in Possingworth Lane, near the B2192 at Blackboys, has been growing for months since it was first reported to East Sussex County Council in December.

Measuring approximately 15 inches deep, 5ft wide and 10ft long, the hole was masked by a large flood. The Argus contacted the council on Wednesday after residents' complaints and that evening a council highways inspection van was seen stranded in the pothole and being rescued by roadside recovery.

Ahahahahahaha! You couldn’t make it up, could you?

Retired criminal barrister Clemency Abraham, a 47-year-old mother-of-three who lives nearby, said: "When I was bringing my children home at about 7.30pm I saw the van had come down to see the road and was stranded in the giant hole. The recovery took several hours. The driver was very shocked by the state of the road and kept saying he couldn’t believe it was this bad and no-one had told him.

"This is a dangerous accident waiting to happen and it makes it very difficult - this is the main route in to these rural settlements."

So, what did the council have to say?

The council cleared the flood water and a blocked drain on Thursday and put barriers, bollards and temporary traffic lights in the road. A spokeswoman said repair work would be carried out as soon as possible but could not confirm when it would begin or be completed.

Is it likely to be before it reaches the centre of the earth?

She said: "Every report we receive is acted upon as quickly as possible but we don’t have unlimited resources so we have to prioritise the repairs to ensure we fix the worst potholes on the busiest roads first. The pothole in Possingworth Lane was first reported in December, but was assessed as low priority at that time."

Funny. Those ‘limited resources’ don’t seem to prevent Brighton Council spending billions on every politically-correct fad and identity politics jolly that comes its way.