AN 80-year-old Pershore grandmother has broken her wrist after tripping on the very pavement she has campaigned to be repaired.

Margaret Welton-Cook, from Fairways, fell on the pathway along Apple Tree Road at around 10.30am last Friday. She was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital and diagnosed with a broken right wrist and bruising.

Severe swelling meant doctors were unable to plaster her broken bone immediately, forcing Mrs Welton-Cook to return to hospital on Monday, her 80th birthday. The widow is still on high doses of painkillers because of the injuries she suffered.

Mrs Welton-Cook's daughter, Fleur Martin, said: "My mother is still shaken and in a lot of pain. She's right-handed so she now needs constant care and we are having to put rails on the left side of the stairs so she can get about her own home.

"This should never have happened. The pavements should have been fixed by now because the residents have been complaining for about four or five years. If nothing is done about it all the old people in this cul-de-sac will end up housebound. A lot of them don't have transport and my mum is not one of the oldest.

"This could have happened to someone who has no-one to look after them and I'm so angry about the whole thing - no-one has been up to check the pavements, even now. We really need to fight to ensure something is done about it."

Dave Lavender, Worcestershire County Council highways engineer, said footpaths in the area were inspected twice a year, but repairs were carried out on a hierarchy basis, depending on the level of use.

He added: "We do work to guidelines but a lot of people think that if a pavement has an uneven surface it is in need of repair."