Some Essex roads may have gone to pot but one man is hoping to make the most of it.

Plastering - artist Vin Harrop making a plaster cast of a pothole

Artist Vin Harrop is planning to make plaster casts of potholes around the county, give them a slick of bright paint and display them in any gallery that will have them.

Mr Harrop said his idea is to take something people don't like and turn it in to something they do, insisting it is not a comment on the state of the county's roads.

He said: "Artists have these weird and wonderful ideas, that's why they call us artists. I thought wouldn't it be nice to turn something people hate into something attractive they might appreciate."

He plans to mould a pothole from each district in the county and is inviting Essex residents to suggest a suitable cavity in their area, be it in Chelmsford, Braintree, Colchester or along the county coastline.

"Preferably not in the middle of a busy road, I don't want to get run over in the name of art," he added.

If you know of a suitable pothole, about the size of a pudding basin, e-mail vin.harrop@tiscali.co.uk or call 01277 630760

Published Thursday, September 9, 2004

Brought to you by the Evening Gazette