Digging through our archive of press photographs often means we discover some real gems - and this picture from March 1988 is certainly one of those.

It accompanied a story headlined 'End to pothole plague' and featured anti-pothole campaigner Reg Comerford.

Here's the story which accompanied the picture:

SKIRTING the swamped potholes in "The Potteries" often needs the dexterity and skill of an acrobat, as campaigner Reg Comerford demonstrates.

Rainwater cascading from blocked, overhanging guttering can often turn the Newport lane into something more like a canal.

But while Reg has become something of an expert in the art of balancing, the problem is no laughing matter for a number of elderly residents who have been seen to topple unceremoniously on their way to the shops.

"This lane doesn't look as if it has been surfaced for forty years," said 59-year-old Reg.

"Originally it was an earth and ash path. It saves people living near it in a half-mile walk around Wharf Road giving a hundred yard short cut from Telford Street to Maindee shopping area."

The six-inch deep holes in the lane, known locally as The Potteries, make the going treacherous, he said.

"Our 18-year-old daughter Melanie badly sprained her arm falling in a hole while walking the dog. I often see people topple.

"The problems is the rainwater from the guttering on the Newport borough council Telford depot building," said Mr Comerford, a lorry driver, of Walsall Street, Newport.

Newport borough council highways department principal assistant Mr John Williams said he did not know of any complaints about the lane but would look into the situation.

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