I'M glad the county council has 26 pothole-filling road gangs out and about in Devon to repair the damage caused by the recent cold.

Last week the council warned drivers that the vast number of potholes (1,200 reported in one week alone) meant that it would be weeks before minor roads could be repaired.

But my gripe is not with that – it is, after all, understandable that repairing such a huge amount of damage will take time.

In fact, it was while passing one of these gangs, who were quickly dealing with dozens of holes on a road near my home, that I was reminded of a general point about county council road gangs which puzzles me.

Why do they nearly always place the 'roadworks ahead' warning signs so that they block part of the carriageway?

These signs often appear long before the work site is reached, and there are often several of them.

Yesterday I had to swerve twice to avoid the oncoming traffic which had been pushed out into the middle of the road by these warning signs.

On other occasions I've even seen these signs dangerously placed just after a sharp bend.

Surely some county council person could come up with a solution to this.