Trip-prone city kerbs taped up

The notorious trip-prone kerbs on a Hereford street have been taped up ahead of work to level them with the road in the new year.

The small raised kerbs on Widemarsh Street between Bath Street and High Town have regularly caused trips and falls since the layout’s installation a decade ago. They separate the pavements from the carriageway, which is closed to traffic between 10.30am and 4.30pm.

A council spokesperson said the kerbs “have now been lined at the request of the Cabinet Member”, adding that this “replicates the tape used during construction of the road and will be used through the construction phase of the proposed works”.

These “are anticipated to commence on site in spring, and the timescales will be confirmed early in the new year”, the spokesperson said.

Anna Gardiner, who set up the Widemarsh Street Trips and Falls Facebook group after undergoing a fall, commented: “A temporary warning mechanism is better than nothing.

“I intend to keep the pressure on until this work is done. I hate the thought of others being injured.”

Recent Hereford resident Sandie Lloyd said: “After a recent fall there, l have a fractured wrist and foot. Apart from the pain and restricted mobility, my husband has had to give up his job to look after me.”