A WINCHESTER couple are calling for immediate action to repair city pavements after two people tripped on paving slabs in a couple of minutes.

Keri Hawkins said his wife Ann tripped on an uneven stone in Middle Brook Street outside Poundland and hit her head on the ground last Tuesday. Just minutes later and a few yards another woman had a similar fall.

Mr Hawkins said: “The stones are terrible along there. They are just not being properly maintained by the council.

Hampshire County Council are responsible. I reported it to a man who wasn’t the least bit interested. He said ‘report it online’ and didn’t even ask how my wife was. There was a complete lack of compassion.”

Mrs Hawkins, 75, of Goring Field, Teg Down, said: “I was on my way to Iceland after being in M&S and had bags of shopping in both hands. I tripped on paving that was sticking up and went down on my knees heavily and because I had bags in my hand I really cracked my head on the pavement.

“People were so kind and they helped me up. A nice young lad who works in Poundland got me a chair and gave me a drink of water and someone took a photo of the paving slab.

“Then a couple of minutes later I looked behind me and a outside the old post office a lady was on the floor too. People said it is not the first time it has happened.

“The chap at the hospital said they get lots of people in from trips on the poorly maintained slabs.

“I’m still a bit shaken and very sore with a very big lump on my head.”

They are calling on the county council to do more to stop the chronic deterioration of the slabs.

Cllr Rob Humby, Executive Member for Environment and Transport at Hampshire County Council, said: “I’m sorry to hear of Mrs Hawkins’ fall.  I have checked with our highways teams and can confirm that a permanent repair is due be carried out within the week.

“Safe and well maintained roads and footways are a priority for the County Council, and we are committed to using the budget we have for highways maintenance as effectively and efficiently as possible. In recent years, the County Council has invested significantly in Winchester, including complete resurfacing of the High Street and The Square with York stone paving, and more recently we have worked with Winchester City Council to install additional security features which are in keeping with the historic city to replace the temporary concrete barriers.  There are particular issues in areas where vehicles drive over the footways causing additional damage to the footway surfaces, and, while we endeavour to keep on top of running repairs, this does mean we may have more frequent damage in some areas, and ultimately we may have to consider different surfacing materials at some sites where this is a recurring problem.”

“Hampshire County Council looks after over 5,000 miles of road and over 3,000 miles of footway.  While we carry our regular inspections, I would urge residents to let us know of any problems online at: www.hants.gov.uk/roadproblems so we can deal with them as quickly as possible.”