Balfour Beatty workers Ryan Harte and Andy Pothecary know what it is like to be on the front line of pothole filling.

Although most members of the public are glad to see them at working on the damage they still come in for abuse from others.

Mr Pothecary, who has been repairing Wiltshire roads for more than four years, said: “We just learn to ignore it when people are verbally abusive.

“Usually it is just things like ‘why have you taken so long to get here?’. We just carry on with what we are doing.”

Mr Harte, who has about six years’ experience of highways work, said the ear protectors workers have to wear come in useful for drowning out any adverse comments.

He said: “Most people are glad to see us but occasionally you do get a bit of abuse. It doesn’t really worry us.

"We just want to get the job done well and as quickly as possible so we can move on to the next pothole. We know we are working as fast as we can.”