It's almost like a scene out of a late-night crime show.
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But, far from thrilled with the latest episode of CSI Orange, NSW Central West police have denounced the person-sized graffiti of potholes on some of the city's streets.
The outline of bodies are appearing on streets in both the central business district and in the suburbs, with at least two spotted on Monday.
Both the white outline on Burrendong Way and on the roundabout of Lords Place and Kite Street in Orange are shaped as a body and surround potholes in both locations.
Central West Police District acting inspector Andrew Barnes said standing for a prolonged period on a busy street defacing the surface was an act "police would not condone".
Orange City Council said it was taking longer for all of its maintenance crews to complete work, including the filling of potholes, for a couple of reasons.
The city has received 475 millimeters of rain since the beginning of November and that, coupled with the latest wave of COVID-19 forcing a lot of workers into isolation, was "causing issues with road maintenance crews", a council spokesperson said.
It's the same story with council's parks team.
The monumental rain is rendering some areas inaccessible for mowing teams, while regular showers and spring and summer growth has created further difficulties for council crews and contractors.
Orange Mayor Jason Hamling said the team was pulling out all the stops to maintain the city's presentation, while ensuring parks, gardens and open spaces were available for the community to use.
"Council has a proactive works program that prioritises the maintenance of high-use areas across the city, such as Robertson Park and Cook Park, Moulder Park and the Orange Botanic Gardens, as well as playgrounds, sporting fields and key entry roads to Orange," Cr Hamling said.
"While all our public spaces are important, others take a lower priority, especially when we are experiencing limitations due to weather and staffing shortages due to COVID-19."
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Mayor Hamling is asking the community to be patient during this time.
"Staff availability is having a huge impact on what we can get to and while we do have contractors, they're experiencing the same challenges as we are," Cr Hamling said.
Temporary signs advising the community of ground conditions and mowing delays have been installed in affected areas.