AN elderly woman has been left badly bruised after tripping on an ‘unsafe’ stretch of pavement in Wimborne.
Judith Nimmo was “incredibly shaken” by the fall in Brookside Road, which left her with injuries to her face, hands and knees.
The 79-year-old is now “frightened” to go out and refuses to walk anywhere without an aid.
She said: “It’s been terrible. I don’t like going out because I’m afraid I’m going to trip again.”
The pavement which Judith tripped on has been described as “breaking out” and “cracking”, with raised bumps that have become a ‘trip hazard’ for pedestrians.
Following the fall, her son Stephen has been calling on the council to relay the pavement as a matter of urgency.
He said: “The pavement in Brookside Road is just not safe.
“It’s frustrating because we want to get mum out to help get her mobility back, but we can’t do that with the way the pavements are at the moment.
“The main issue is that the council have invested so much money in cycle lanes and the roads for cars, but they haven’t bothered to take a look at the pavements, which is important when you’ve got an older population in Wimborne.”
Stephen explained that he had spoken to the council, who said that any part of the pavement that protrudes less than 2cm is “deemed safe and not a trip hazard”.
He added: “I was a bit disgusted with the council’s attitude.
“It was one of, ‘well if the government guidelines say that anything under 2cm is ok, then we don’t have to do anything’.”
He added that the council had relayed part of the pavement the day after he reported the fall, but said they completely missed the part where Judith had fallen.
Speaking about how the fall on September 27 affected his mother, Stephen said: “She fell pretty much on her face. She didn’t go out after that, she took herself in and was shaken up.
“She now won’t walk without an aid, so she’s on a zimmer frame."
Dorset Council said the incident is currently subject to an ongoing compensation claim and so would not comment further.
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