Calls for town safety improvements

A county resident who slammed her head on a pavement in Leominster is calling on Herefordshire Council to improve street safety in the town.

Rowena Belk, 69, was walking along West Street earlier this month when she tripped and fell near the telephone box.

She said it happened so quickly she didn’t have a chance to cushion her fall and her forehead hit the ground.

“It was serious. I’ve had terrible headaches since the fall,” she said.

“Three ladies came to my aid and they got me a chair and gave me some water.

“The ambulance came and took me to A&E for a scan to see if I had fractured my skull.

“I like Leominster, but they really need to do something about the pavements along West Street.”

Luckily for Ms Belk she had not fractured her skull but her eyes swelled up so much she could not see.

She has since recovered physically but says the fall has knocked her confidence.

“It’s left me shattered,” she said.

“I called Herefordshire Council and told them about the fall and the woman I spoke to said she would look into it.

“She begrudgingly took my contact details, but I never got a call back.

She said they should have gone out to Leominster and put a safety cordon around the uneven surface.

Transport and infrastructure cabinet member John Harrington said the council will be looking into the issue

“We are very sorry to hear of Ms Belk’s fall, and wish her a speedy recovery,” he said.

“Our teams at the council and Balfour Beatty will be looking into this again with a view to ensuring the pavement is as safe as possible.

“West Street is the subject of a monthly walked safety inspection and we have received no recent reports from members of the public expressing concern about the condition of the pavement.

“All our roads, footways and cycleways are inspected monthly, quarterly or annually and we respond quickly to reports of safety concerns at any time.

“In addition to our safety inspection, representatives from Herefordshire Council, Leominster Town Council, and Balfour Beatty Living Places visited Leominster’s town centre on 13 June, recorded all defects, and although concern about the overall appearance of the paving were conveyed, there were no safety defects found on the footways in West street at that time.

“We encourage anybody with an urgent safety concern to call us on 01432 261800, which is available 24/7 and defects can be reported on line via our website herefordshire.gov.uk “