Rear Nearside Arch 'Repair' !

[melinx]

I should state that this is a 'repair' that I am not at all proud of, but I really did not want to strip the rear of the car to do a 'proper' repair to it !
Ever since I have had the 2.6 K reg. Diplomat (2 years) I have thought that there was excessive tyre noise coming from the rear nearside and when I have on occasion removed the spare wheel, I have found traces of mud spatter on the inside of the rear wing, which I mistakenly put down to getting in through the air vents there.
At the bottom rear extremity of the wheel arch, a small (less than palm sized) corrosion hole was evident and when an extension light was put on the floor under the wheel arch in a dark garage, sure enough the inside of the wing in the boot was illuminated; you can't see directly into this area from the boot since it is behind the plate that holds the ariel and is at the bottom of the spare wheel recess.
I do not believe that this area is at all 'structural' and it has passed 2 MOT's with it there, so a cosmetic repair should be acceptable.
Obviously this was the source of tyre noise and mud getting into the boot area !!
You can get your hand down into this area from the boot, so I took a small piece of aluminium mesh (as supplied for supporting body filler) and pushed it down until I could see it in firmly in position looking from the wheel arch.
Using a long nozzle on an expanded polystyrene aerosol can, ( from B & Q ) squirt the compound down onto the mesh and also onto the mesh from the wheel arch area, use plenty, leave it for a day to harden and trim it back with a sharp knife.
Cover in the wheel arch area with 2 or 3 coats of bitumastic leaving it to harden between coats.
Result, no more tyre noise or water and mud behind the spare wheel !!