AMEY has scheduled a temporary repair to a Broad Street pavement after learning of a woman's fall.

Last Thursday, Mrs Judith Gibson had to visit A & E after being thrown off balance by uneven paving slabs outside Superdrug. Her foot twisted beneath her resulting in a fractured bone in the side of her foot.

Mrs Gibson said: "Suffering this type of injury would be bad enough at any time but my husband and I were due to fly out to Italy on Monday 17th June on a holiday to celebrate our Ruby Wedding Anniversary. As the holiday was to comprise walking tours of Venice and Verona and I am unable to walk, even a short distance, we had to cancel the trip. I would like to extend my thanks to all the excellent staff at Ross Community Hospital who were so helpful".

The Ross Gazette reported on the fact that the pavement needed repairing in early April.

An Amey spokesperson told the Gazette: "Amey inspects Ross town centre on a monthly basis and any defects are prioritised for repair based on how much of a safety risk they present. The cracked slabs on Broad Street were already on our repair schedule, however their condition has been made worse by a heavy vehicle mounting the pavement causing them to dislodge and become uneven. A temporary repair is scheduled for this week to re-lay the existing slabs and make them safe until replacement slabs arrive. These have been delayed because the slabs are of a non-standard type and size and will need to be cut to fit."

Mrs Gibson's ward member Councillor Richard Mayo said: "I was so upset to hear about Mrs Gibson's fall. I have been reporting broken and dangerous paving slabs all over town for months. We do stress to Amey how dangerous some of these slabs are but we are left frustrated and having to constantly nag. We know that budgets are tight but when something is genuinely dangerous it should be actioned quickly."

Councillor Atkinson said: "I broke my leg last year and know just how difficult it is to get around Ross in a wheelchair or on crutches. With large gaps in pointing and uneven slabs you risk injuring yourself again. This needs sorting, now."

Last week it was announced that Amey had lost the multimillion pound contract to maintain Herefordshire's highways, including public rights of way. Bafour Beatty will take over in September.

For more stories in full please see this week's Ross Gazette.