Russian “road fairy” fighting city’s potholes

Ever tired of how long it takes for your road to be repaired?

One young woman is so fed up of waiting, she’s taken matters into her own hands and started secretly filling and repairing her city’s potholes, reports the BBC.

Veronika Bobrus, 26, from the southern Siberian City of Omsk, began using a mix of gravel and concrete to repair potholes on her neighbourhood’s roads and has, since then, become an overnight media sensation, earning the nickname “Road Fairy” following a video of her singlehandedly repairing a road surface on a social media website Bobrus.

Speaking to the BBC, Bobrus explained why she’d taken it on herself to become a new breed of guerrilla road repairer.

“I got fed up with the state of our roads.

"I keep hitting potholes, so I thought I'd just go and fill them."

Braving sub-zero temperatures, ice and snow, Bobrus began working at night. So far, it’s been reported, she’s repaired five potholes and won praise all over the Russian social media following the emergence of the video.

On a Russian social network site, VK, some users said that her work “shamed the government”, while others encouraged the likes of the mayor of Omsk City to pick up a bucket and spade and “let him repair the roads”.

Unfortunately Omsk’s mayor, Vyacheslav Dvorakovskiy, didn’t see the humour in these comments and is now calling Bobrus to end her valiant nocturnal activities.

Speaking to news website, Super Omsk, Dvorakovskiy said: “"If this kind of job is done using unknown materials and unknown skills, it can actually be a disservice.

"The best thing to do is report any defects in the road surface to us, and we'll do our best to repair them as soon as possible."

It’s not known if Bobrus, now reported to be somewhat of a local celebrity, will continue her role as the city’s Road Fairy.