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A stretch of road has been dubbed 'the highway to heaven' after locals say a mysterious heart-shaped pot hole which appeared is the flaming heart of Jesus.

And now they want city bosses to turn it into a holy site.

Locals in the city of Petrozavodsk, in Russia's north-western Republic of Karelia, woke to find the 3ft wide 'heart' dominating the centre of a street leading out of the city.

Above it was a spray of gravel, which they claim looks like a flame from one of the symbols of Christ.

Local teacher Elena Tretiakova, 26, said: "I have lived here all my life and I swear I have never seen this hole before and it has never been here before.

"Where it came from I don’t know.

"But it looks to me like it is a sign, a sign from God, to spread the message of love."

(Image: CEN)

Now residents want their city council to give the road special status and to turn the flaming heart into a holy site.

Shop worker Lika Cherkasova, 45, said: "We have petitioned the authorities to rename the street Highway to Heaven and to cordon off the heart so that people can come and pray here and find inspiration.

"Many people use this road and we think it’s important for them to realise they are travelling on sacred ground."

But a spokesman for the city council said: "We are aware of the so-called Heart of Jesus and the petition to change the road name.

"But it is unlikely to happen.

"Cordoning off the road is impractical and it would cost too much money to build a new one to service all the traffic, just because of a hole in the ground."