Stamford pavements in a dangerous condition according to residents who have fallen in high street
Two women who suffered nasty injuries after tripping on uneven paving have called for urgent repairs to be made.
Dorothy Alexander, 87, fell outside Marks and Spencer on Wednesday last week, hitting her head and needing to attend hospital for an x-ray.
A Stamford resident, she attended a meeting of the town council on Tuesday to raise her concerns with councillors, and was joined by Sheila Adams, who fell outside Wilko on August 7.
Dorothy said: “I’m here to speak not just for myself but for the people who have fallen like me and I have to question whether the paving is suitable.
“The local shops are, at present, helping people who fall by bringing out chairs and sending for ambulances.
“They are angels and they are doing it almost on a daily basis, but the paving is a disgrace and people in Stamford deserve much better.”
Lincolnshire county councillor Richard Davies (Con), who is responsible for paths and roads, apologised to Dorothy on behalf of the county council.
“Rest assured we will be doing something,” he told her, adding that unsuitable materials were being replaced with those less likely to cause a trip hazard.
Sheila, who also lives in Stamford, said that when she had tripped she hit her head and caused her knees to be bruised and bleeding.
“I was quite distressed by what had happened,” she said. “It was a terrible shock.”
Several town councillors expressed dismay over the amount of time repairs were taking, and after the meeting Coun Steve Carroll (Ind) said he was ‘disgusted’ that Coun Davies had accepted praise from town mayor Breda Griffin (Con) for a repair in one of the town’s streets, in front residents still suffering from their injuries.
Stamford Urban Group produced a report for Lincolnshire Highways on the poor state of some of the town’s paths in 2009 and followed it up in November last year and this year after no significant action was taken. Issues with pavements can also be reported to Lincolnshire County Council here.
Have you or someone you know tripped over lose or uneven paving in Stamford this year? E-mail the details to smeditor@stamfordmercury.co.uk or phone 01780 758955.
