Angus Council has been slammed for carrying out road repairs to a street which was then completely resurfaced the next day.
Tayside Contracts staff were involved in patching work at East High Street in Forfar earlier this week.
But less than 24 hours after the tar was laid, it was dug up again ahead of the road being resurfaced.
A Forfar resident looked on in bemusement as the council employees undid the work they had carried out the previous day.
He said: “On Tuesday small patches were done outside Davidson’s the Chemist shop at the top of Green Street.
“Then they moved on to the area in front of Hamptons shop.
“Some tar was thrown into a patched area the width of East High Street at the Queen Street junction and flattened with the back of the shovel.
“When I looked out on Wednesday morning, I saw that the patched areas of tar were gone and a specialist contractor was setting up to completely resurface the road.
“I questioned one of the roads guys about it and he said there were dangerous cavities which needed to be filled, even though it would all be dug up again the next day.
“I couldn’t believe it. It seems like a complete waste of time and resources. It’s an out-and-out joke.”
An Angus Council spokesman said the patching work was required for “public safety” in case the road resurfacing work was delayed.
“At this time of year, work on the road network can be weather dependent,” he said.
“Our roads team took the decision that it was better for public safety to fill in the two small potholes as the larger work for the resurfacing was not guaranteed to take place due to weather conditions.”
East High Street is down to one lane for resurfacing work and is open only to eastbound traffic.
The work is expected to be completed on Tuesday, next week.