Sir Rod Stewart’s historic battle with Britain’s most mundane problem

Sir Rod Stewart is in a war against potholes – and don’t we know it (Picture: Getty Images)

Sir Rod Stewart is locked in a years-long battle with potholes, and he’s not going to get – or drive – over the issue any time soon.

The Maggie Mae singer, 79, recently hit the headlines when he confessed he may be forced to sell his sports cars because of the pothole problem around his home in Harlow, Essex, which are driving him, ahem, potty.

Writing on his Instagram account, alongside a photo of his many sportscars – including Lamborghinis and Ferraris – Sir Rod said: ‘I am extremely fortunate and eternally grateful to be the owner of these five beautiful hybrid sports cars, which, in my opinion, are true “works of art”.’

Good on you, Sir Rod. But he continued: ‘Unfortunately, because of the potholes on our roads, I may have to find new owners for them.’

Diddums is a word that springs to mind, but this isn’t the first time Sir Rod has voiced his disgrace at the crater-filled British roads he can’t move for (literally).

Explaining how he could no longer drive his Ferrari down a lane near his Essex home, Sir Rod – armed with a shovel, high vis, a road sign, and ‘the boys’ – took it upon himself to fix the problem because ‘no one else will bother’ in 2022.

Sir Rod has taken umbrage with potholes over the years (Picture: Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns)

In a video, the star can be seen getting to work on the roads – with all the gear, and presumably no idea – and told the camera: ‘I’m repairing the streets where I live. No one will bother to do it.’

Wearing a luminous work waistcoat, he raged: ‘This is the state of the roads where I live in Harlow.’

‘Me and the boys thought we’d come and do it ourselves. While millions and millions of pounds are being spent on the M11,’ he continued.

The rocker made his point loud and clear in 2022 (Picture: Instagram / sirrodstewart)

Now, it seems no one can separate Sir Rod from the UK’s pothole problem – which is actually a problem, however mundane.

In March it was reported that roads in England and Wales are at ‘breaking point’.

The Asphalt Industry Alliance found that 17% of our roads are in ‘poor’ condition, with rising costs alongside inflation exacerbating the problem locally as councils are financially stretched, while extreme weather has also played a part.

Sir Rod or Arnold Schwarzenegger – choose your fighter (Picture: Instagram / sirrodstewart)

The RAC estimates there are over 1million potholes in the UK each year, which can cause costly car damage, or even at their most dangerous – crashes.

Sir Rod – alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the US, who actually managed to fill in a pothole that wasn’t a pothole – has flown the flag of pothole problems in the UK ever since his viral roadwork video.

In an interview last year, he discussed the video and issue again with Virgin Radio as he recalled: ‘I’ve got a Ferrari and it got stuck once, drove me mad.

‘The next day I saw an ambulance with a light on the top and that was stuck in a great big hole. So me and the boys thought, let’s go and do it ourselves. So we just did it.’

At least – unlike the Canadian actor – Sir Rod correctly identified the holes as potholes and not important service trenches…

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.