Pensioners are calling on the council to fill in a giant pothole which appeared outside their homes following the cold weather.

William Wilson and his neighbours Ernest and Ruby Kinsman have had difficulty getting out of their driveway at the former Sharplands School, Rilla Mill, for a fortnight. As a council tenant Mr Wilson, 74, contacted Cornwall Council to see if the road could be filled in, but was told the council was not responsible for the land in question.

Although Mr Wilson, who is wheelchair bound, has been able to use his 4x4 to get out when needed, the Kinsmans have been left stranded and have had to rely on family and friends with larger vehicles.

On Sunday 85-year-old Mr Kinsman tried to level out the road surface himself.

He said: 'It was so deep, so I tried to fill it in and level it out. If it wasn't for our son and our next door neighbour I wouldn't be able to get out.'

Mrs Kinsman added: 'No one will own up to owning the land. We have lived here since 1961 and it has not been like that before. It has worn away, but never lifted up like it has this time.'

Mr Wilson said when he had food delivered to his home, the driver refused to drive his van down the driveway.

He said: 'It is a disruption and doesn't do our vehicles any good. A couple of people have phoned and said they haven't visited because of the state of it and we can't have deliveries.

'I have an electric wheelchair and sometimes I go for a trundle in it. I might be able to get out, but I wouldn't be able to get back in.'

Mr Wilson and the Kinsmans are continuing to investigate who owns the land in the hope that it might be repaired.