They have complained about a road, just off Mediterranean Street, which leads down to the only bay in the area. All are in agreement that Pembroke is probably one of the nicest and best-maintained areas in Malta. It is clean and very well-kept by both residents and the local council.

But some have got a bee in their bonnet about the road. One man explained: “It’s very obvious, the road is bad, there are craters in it and you damage your car going down there.”

But this was not the major bone of contention: “Kids go down to the bay to swim, as do many foreign students who stay with host families in the locality,” he said.

He continued to say that cars automatically swerve to avoid the huge potholes in the road, and that creates danger when children and students are walking to or from the beach.

“It is a natural instinct to swerve away from a pothole, and it does create a danger to kids and adults alike,” the man said.

The residents said that the council ought to have set aside some funds to at least patch up the road, although they would obviously prefer it to be resurfaced. “There is no other way to get there, the other road leading from the back of the Radisson is just made up of loose stones, so you can’t use that one either,” they said.