Latest news with #JamesCoxall
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pothole fake legs 'joke' leads to loan requests
A man who drew attention to a large water-filled pothole by placing a pair of fake legs upside down in it said many people with similar watery woes had asked to borrow them after his stunt proved successful. James Coxall put the "legs" in a pothole on Haverhill Road in Castle Camps, on the Cambridgeshire/Suffolk border on 23 February. Within days of his photo being publicised, Cambridgeshire County Council fixed the hole, which initially appeared about eight months ago. Mr Coxall said while the legs were just a bit of fun, his "joke" attracted media attention across the UK and as far afield as Canada, and people were now asking to borrow the legs to draw attention to their own long-standing potholes. Mr Coxall, a 41-year-old carpenter, said his family just wanted to "have a bit of fun" with the pothole. Although it was not a busy road, if there were oncoming vehicles you would "have to either stop, or hit the pothole" and risk a blown tyre, he said. Their "pothole person" creation, made using old jeans, colourful shoes, rags and wood was placed in the deep hole, and weighed down with a brick. Photographs of it were shared from various social media sites and Mr Coxall said people seemed to "love it", and he was known locally as "a bit of a joker". It was picked up by a number of media outlets, and more locally, Mr Coxall has been receiving requests from people wanting to borrow the legs in the hope of highlighted that their own potholes need fixing. On the day the council workers arrived to fill in the Haverhill Road hole, Mr Coxall's wife rescued the legs and they are now in the family's back garden. "A lot of people would like them, and I don't know about that, but as I'm a carpenter, I might try something else - like the Titanic or a submarine - I could build those," he said. He added he had received a number of messages about council workers marking up other potholes in the south of the county over the weekend and while he was not sure his "legs" were the impetus behind the work, he hoped his stunt had helped. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Fake legs used as a pointer for pothole 'Pothole World' sign mocks county's roads Massive pothole proving difficult to fix 'Self-healing' roads aim to solve pothole crisis Facebook: Odd Things Around Cambridge
BBC News
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Demand for fake legs used as a pointer for Cambridgeshire pothole
A man who drew attention to a large water-filled pothole by placing a pair of fake legs upside down in it said many people with similar watery woes had asked to borrow them after his stunt proved successful. James Coxall put the "legs" in a pothole on Haverhill Road in Castle Camps, on the Cambridgeshire/Suffolk border on 23 days of his photo being publicised, Cambridgeshire County Council fixed the hole, which initially appeared about eight months Coxall said while the legs were just a bit of fun, his "joke" attracted media attention across the UK and as far afield as Canada, and people were now asking to borrow the legs to draw attention to their own long-standing potholes. Mr Coxall, a 41-year-old carpenter, said his family just wanted to "have a bit of fun" with the pothole. Although it was not a busy road, if there were oncoming vehicles you would "have to either stop, or hit the pothole" and risk a blown tyre, he "pothole person" creation, made using old jeans, colourful shoes, rags and wood was placed in the deep hole, and weighed down with a brick. Photographs of it were shared from various social media sites and Mr Coxall said people seemed to "love it", and he was known locally as "a bit of a joker".It was picked up by a number of media outlets, and more locally, Mr Coxall has been receiving requests from people wanting to borrow the legs in the hope of highlighted that their own potholes need fixing. On the day the council workers arrived to fill in the Haverhill Road hole, Mr Coxall's wife rescued the legs and they are now in the family's back garden."A lot of people would like them, and I don't know about that, but as I'm a carpenter, I might try something else - like the Titanic or a submarine - I could build those," he added he had received a number of messages about council workers marking up other potholes in the south of the county over the weekend and while he was not sure his "legs" were the impetus behind the work, he hoped his stunt had helped. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Man, Tired of Dealing with Potholes in His Town, Gets Officials' Attention with Hilarious Eye-Catching Prank
A British man fed up with the condition of a road near his village finally put a foot down — or in this case, legs up. On Sunday, Feb. 23, James Coxall put a pair of fake legs — outfitted with jeans and a pair of colorful sneakers — in a large puddle created by a pothole on Haverhill Road in the Cambridgeshire village of Castle Camps in England, according to the BBC. The 41-year-old carpenter told the outlet that he set up the prank after the gaping crater — one of several potholes on the road — remained unrepaired for eight months. Coxall said that while the road is not busy, drivers would "have to either stop or hit the pothole" if they encountered any oncoming traffic. Related: Arnold Schwarzenegger Fills 'Giant' Potholes Himself, But Officials Say It's an Active Gas Service Trench Deciding to "have a bit of fun" with the frustrating road situation, Coxall, his wife and kids gathered up some old clothes and rags and turned them into a pair of legs clothed in jeans and shoes. "The shoes were going to charity anyway, so we thought we'd give them an outing first," Coxall told the BBC. "We stuffed the jeans with old rags and I used some wood to keep the legs sturdy and upright." He placed the legs in the puddle, with the feet sticking up in the air, using a brick to weigh down his creation. Then, he posted a photo of his prank on the Facebook group, Odd Things Around Cambridge, and another local Haverhill group, quickly earning quite a few likes. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "It's just a bit of fun, and I've had lots of messages about it," Coxall told the BBC. "People seem to like it around here, but then, I am known as a bit of a joker." Coxall's eye-catching stunt eventually paid off, as the Cambridgeshire County Council told the outlet one of its highways officers would come out to inspect the road and "repairs will be made as required." The county also advised residents to utilize its online pothole reporting tool. Read the original article on People
CBC
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
'You've got to have a laugh,' says British man who put fake legs in pothole
James Coxall was driving with his family past a massive pothole in his village for the umpteenth time when he decided he'd had enough. The British man has been either swerving around or barrelling over the massive crater in the Cambridgeshire, U.K., village of Castle Camps for the last eight months. But instead of getting mad about it, he decided to do something silly. With the help of his wife and kids, he built a pair of denim-clad wooden legs and erected them in the middle of the rain-filled hole, giving the appearance of someone falling in, head first. "We just thought that would be the most amusing way to sort of highlight the pothole," Coxall told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "You've got to have a laugh and a joke, haven't you?" Prank pays off The pothole in Haverhill Road, he says, is one of many in Castle Camps, and it's on a road that leads to the nearby town where villagers run their errands. He says he passes it roughly four times a week. According to his own measurements, it's 1.2 metres long, 0.9 metres wide, and 10 centimetres deep. "It is incredibly frustrating driving around on the roads with holes everywhere in them and people's cars getting damaged and your tires getting busted," Coxall said. So on Sunday, he channeled his frustration into a protest/prank. He says it was a family affair. "The kids helped. We drilled in some wood for the legs. We found an old pair of jeans that were going to the charity shop. We put them on. We stuffed it with some rags. And then we screwed a pair of their old shoes on top," he said. "I walked it down there under my arm and the kids went on their bikes. And me, the wife and the kids put it in a pot hole with a brick to sort of weigh it down." Almost immediately, Coxall says, he started getting texts from his neighbours asking if the legs were his handiwork. "A lot of people who know me know that I'm a bit of a joker," he said. He also posted a picture of the legs on a local Facebook group, Odd Things Around Cambridge. His kids, he says, have become school celebrities for their involvement. Their hard work seems to have paid off. Four days after the legs went up, the pothole was filled in. "I can confirm that the pothole in question … was fixed yesterday," Jonathan Kitley, spokesperson for the Cambridge City Council, told CBC in an email. He did not comment on the legs. Coxall says he's pleased to see the pothole fixed. He says the city has filled it in at least once before, but the repairs didn't last long. "It looks pretty good, but we will have to wait and see, won't we, if it survives wind and rain and cars driving over it." he said. "I'm not that confident." His family project, meanwhile, remains intact. "They didn't bury the art," he said. "My wife was driving past and she jumped out of the car and she saved the art off the side of the road." The pothole prankster is already looking around for his next target. There are plenty of potholes in the village to choose from, he says.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Carpenter sticks fake legs in huge pothole - and five other stories you missed this week
A man who stuck some fake legs in a huge pothole to highlight the state of a road is one of our best local stories of the week. Cambridgeshire Live reported that carpenter James Coxall crafted the legs, complete with trainers, then placed them in the massive pothole on Haverhill Road in the village of Castle Camps. Elsewhere, a woman in Yorkshire about to celebrate her 106th birthday has hailed her chocolate diet, while some strangely shaped clouds were spotted in the skies above London. You can read the full version of each of our selected articles through the links under each story – or read more top headlines from around the UK's regions on the Yahoo UK local news page. In an inventive protest against the poor condition of his village road, one carpenter crafted a set of fake legs and stuck them in a massive pothole puddle. James Coxall, 41, got so fed up with the pothole - which is three feet wide and four inches deep - he decided to take action in a very unusual way. James said the hole had been on Haverhill Road, Castle Camps, for eight months. Read the full story from Cambridgeshire Live An inspirational centenarian who is marking her 106th birthday attributes her longevity to indulging in chocolate. Yorkshire-born Edith Hill, who only moved into a care home when she turned 100, credits her daily chocolate fix and "partying" for keeping her youthful and in good health. Her chocolate of choice is Cadbury Dairy Milk, but she's open to any confectionery delight, particularly during Easter festivities. Read the full story from Yorkshire Live A rural Highland primary with just two pupils has been saved from closure by councillors after a flurry of local support. The school has ambitions of becoming a learning hub for maritime education with links to local STEM and ecological organisations. Council reports branded the school 'no longer viable' after a continued decline in pupils. But parents and locals came together in a bid to save the school – and now councillors have backed them. Read the full story from The National Strange and disconcertingly named 'udder clouds' were seen hanging over London skies during sunset yesterday (Wednesday 26 February). The clouds were spotted and photographed over Woolwich at around 5.30pm during sunset. These are unusual weather formations, and their scientific names are Mammatus clouds, which comes from the Latin mamma, which translates to 'udder' or 'breast', the BBC said. Read the full story from My London A gorgeous cat has been given a new lease of life after being rescued from a construction site - but more help is now needed. The friendly moggy was living on the site of Hopetown Darlington railway museum where she got to know workers during the year they worked there. Surveyor Connie Metcalf recalled how every morning they would find the affable feline curled up under a train or soaking in affection from the team. Read the full story from Teesside Live A young metal detectorist from Newton Aycliffe has managed to find a huge sword pommel which "could be linked to the Scottish war of independence". Luke Cunliffe, 13, attends searches in fields all over the country in search of rare finds. During a recent dig in North Yorkshire he has found a giant sword pommel which could be linked to the Scottish war of independence. Read the full story from the Northern Echo
