A large hole in the pavement of Teignmouth’s Wellington Street will finally be repaired – even though no-one has accepted responsibility for getting the job done.

Safety barriers have enclosed part of the busy walkway directly outside Peacock’s since the pavement caved in several months ago.

Now the county council says it will get the pavement repaired while ‘discussions continue’ on who should foot the bill.

Devon County Council’s Highways department is responsible for repairing broken pavements.

But the Wellington Street paving is thought to have caved in because of a collapsed culvert underneath.

However, South West Water says repairing the culvert isn’t its responsibility because it’s not part of the infrastructure for water supply and sewage treatment.

A spokesperson said: “This hole is part of a watercourse, which we do not maintain.”

Teignmouth town, district and county councillor David Cox has been losing patience with the situation. saying: “We just want it done - the hole has been there for so long - and it can’t be that difficult to cap the culvert off and put a paving stone on top.”

A Devon County Council spokesperson said: “We know residents have been waiting for this issue to be resolved.

“Our inspectors have found that the culvert may be an old South West Water asset, so we’ve been working to confirm who is responsible for it.

“We expect to have a start date for the work soon and we are in the process of identifying a contractor to carry out the work. We aim to complete the repairs this financial year.”