WHAT a whopper. Is this the biggest pothole in Southampton?

The huge hole is the size of bath and campaigners say they have been pressing for months to get it filled in.

It lies in Nursery Road, outside Bitterne Park Social Club.

The road is classified as “unadopted”, meaning Southampton City Council is not duty-bound to repair it.

Southampton city councillor Bob Painton said: “I think it is high time that whoever is the owner of that stretch of road should come out and view it, and seal the hole properly.

“We could have a fatality if an elderly person was to trip on this bath-sized pothole – the fall would be so severe that the injuries would be devastating.

“Action should have been taken months ago, not just ignored.”

However, a council spokesman confirmed the pothole was earmarked for repairs in the next week.

The huge pothole was measured by Bitterne Park Social Club steward Angela Humphreys, who said it is five inches deep.

She added: “My concern is that we have a lot of elderly members – and the car park is at the back of the club.

“There is no street lighting down there at all so I am worried that an elderly person is going to fall and hurt themselves.

“There are two potholes on that road which need to be filled and made safe – it is a public right of way.

“I reckon it is only a matter of time until someone gets seriously injured, or a car gets seriously damaged.”

The city council spokesman said: “This short stretch of Nursery Road is classified as unadopted highway and is therefore not the responsibility of our highways team to maintain.

“However, we are committed to ensuring the entrance to the park is safe for local residents.

“As we have not been able to identify a land owner, we have scheduled repairs to take place within the next week.”

As previously reported by the Daily Echo, the city council was handed almost £2.3m from a £1.2billion pot of Government cash set aside for road maintenance. Of that funding for 2017/18, £137,000 was allocated on filling potholes.

Following the announcement, council leader Simon Letts said the funding was a “fraction” of what is required to treat the city’s roads.

He added that extra £128 million is needed to bring roads up to a “good condition”.