NEIGHBOURS could not wait for the potholes in their street to be fixed.

So they shouted "off to work we go" and resurfaced it themselves.

They picked up their shovels and marched out of their homes for the big heave-ho in Gladstone Street, Westhoughton.

And in no time at all they were whistling while they worked.

But after forking out £200 for gravel, they could not afford to hire a steamroller.

So they flattened the bumps by driving up and down in their cars.

Alex Cole, who has lived in Gladstone Street for 13 years, said: "We were waiting so long for the potholes in the road to be fixed.

"When it rained they filled with water and turned into giant lakes. The rumour was that shark fins had been spotted in the water.

"Eventually we decided to do the work ourselves. Two trucks of scree arrived and the men started spreading it on the street."

The workers put their backs into their task all afternoon while their wives made cups of tea. Passers-by stopped to admire their handiwork.

Mrs Cole said: "The men looked just like the seven dwarfs while they did the work. It was such a hard job, but they kept whistling and five hours later they had finished.

"Then they rolled up and down in their cars like a synchronised swimming team.

"We're really proud of our new street. We all get on so well here and we can do things like this because we're such a close community."

A spokesman for Bolton Council said its highways engineers could not do the work because the road is unadopted.