The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Blind man and his dog ended up on hot tar
Council and contractors apologise after path was blocked
A blind pensioner and his guide dog ended up walking through hot tar after roadwork crews blocked a Glenrothes street.
Fife Council has apologised to Ian Muir after he and his Labrador Tel walked through the resurfaced roadway in Taransay Park.
Contractors blocked the only pavement the pair could use while maintenance took place last week, with lumps of tar becoming attached to their feet after they had to take to the road.
With the width of the road being worked on and machinery blocking the walkway, Mr Muir even had to call out for help on one occasion to receive assistance across the street.
Forced to face the same problem on three consecutive days, Mr Muir, 72, said: “Taransay Park only has a pavement on one side, the rest is cobbled. We were walking down the street when Tel stopped suddenly. “I told him to find a safe way across. “He let out a little yelp and at first I thought I had stood on his paws.
“He would not have known it was not entirely safe to use the road.”
Having battled glaucoma in one eye, Mr Muir was registered blind 14 years ago after losing his sight completely following a triple heart bypass.
A resident of Taransay Park for 25 years, he has been guided by Tel for the past two years, his second guide dog.
As well as proving traumatic for Mr Muir, the former sales director and his wife are having to replace carpets in their home after tar became attached to Tel’s paws.
Calling on contractors to show more consideration to local residents when conducting roadworks, he said: “They need to have a look around.
“There are a lot of pensioners and disabled people living at Taransay Park.”
A Fife Council representative visited Mr Muir and his wife at their home to apologise in person, while Derek Crowe, engineering and waste services manager at the local authority, added: “We fully apologise to Mr and Mrs Muir for the inconvenience this has caused. This clearly isn’t acceptable.
“The resurfacing work is being carried out by a contractor on our behalf.
“We’ve spoken with the contractor, who will deal with any claims directly. We’ve been assured that they’ve been in touch with Mr and Mrs Muir to apologise for the upset and inconvenience caused.”