PUDDLES come and go. It rains. A puddle forms. It doesn't rain. Puddle disappears.

That is how things usually work.

Except for this one on St George's Street, by the bus stop outside the back entrance to Marks & Spencer. It has been there for most of the last year.

Even during the drought this puddle refused to go away. Eventually the weather was so dry that evaporation did its work.

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The reason why is hangs on is that the area where the puddle forms is lower than the adjacent drain, so gravity does not work. The paving has over the years since it was laid sunk more than the metal drain.

No major issue of course, apart from the occasional splashing from stagnant water and the general unpleasant appearance.

And it gives Wintonians a taste of what life is like in a Third World country.