Police have alerted the local authority after spotting a massive pot hole on the motorway near Swindon.

Wiltshire Police's Roads Policing Unit came across the defect, which they described as "monster", at Junction 16 of the M4 at around 7.30pm on Friday, September 6.

Aa spokesperson said: "Weirdly, our latest recruit was in possession of his swimming trunks and recent 5m badge keen to check the depth.

"The council have been tasked and in regard to the hole, they said they would (literally) ‘look into it’."

After the county force shared a photo of the hole in the tarmac on social media, it attracted critical comments from motorists.

One said: "That's been patched before. Why are we paying tax for such awful roads? Get a night crew out there and do it properly."

Another added: "That doesn't look like a 'pot hole', looks more like a utility company failed to fill it correctly before resurfacing it.

"That's a hole. Pot holes are surface compression or wear and tear, that's a failure underneath the tarmac."

A third said: "Looks like that’s already been repaired badly at some point.

"That hole is enough to dislodge any motorcycle rider and cause damage to cars. Our roads are a disgrace."