Gran’s face cut in pavement fall

A GRANDMOTHER who was left with facial injuries after falling over an uneven pavement has called on council officials to fix residential streets instead of focusing on town centre redevelopments.

Vicky Rowlands was left with cuts and grazes after tripping over on her way back from getting her morning newspapers.

The 56-year-old said: “It happened on Saturday at about 7.15am when I went to go and get the papers.

“We had our grandkids who were up at six and we were doing breakfast, so I said ‘I’ll go and get the papers’.

“It was on the way back that I fell on the pavement. The pavements are all up and twisted. With the papers in my hand, I just tripped over.

“Because I had stuff in my hand, my papers and my purse, my face took the brunt of it.

“I was so annoyed and upset when I came back in because of all the blood. I was a hell of a mess.

“I’ve had to take a week off work because my face looks horrendous.

“I’ve hurt my shoulder as well. It’s all the right side, where I went down.”

After her fall on Dumfries Street, Treorchy, Vicky had to go to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant to check everything was OK and she had a tetanus jab just in case.

But she says she feels lucky it wasn’t worse.

She said: “Thank God I didn’t break a bone, or my teeth.

“I’m just trying to get myself back to normal.”

She claims she’s not the first resident to fall foul of the pavement.

Vicky added: “There’s a few people in the street who have had falls as well but not on the same spot, on different spots.

“A neighbour across the road fell a few weeks ago.”

And Vicky says while the accidents have been reported to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, nothing appears to have changed.

She said: “It’s OK to have all of Treorchy town centre looking good – they’ve got plans for all the town centre – but it’s the streets behind they want to worry about.

“They’re doing all the pavements and the roads [in the town centre] for the shoppers, but they want to bring it behind to our streets.

“There needs to be something done about it because someone else is going to get hurt – good job it’s not an elderly person. Someone could have broken a bone.”

A council spokesperson said: “Improving our highways and pavements in the county borough is a priority area of investment for the council through #RCTinvest, for the benefit of residents and visitors to Rhondda Cynon Taff.

“Whenever the council is informed about a reported issue with one of its pavements, like in this case, measures are put in place to investigate as soon as possible.

“Arrangements for members of the highways team to visit the street in question have been put in place.”