A WOMAN tripped on a broken kerb deemed a “low priority” by highways officials.

Ann Pace, 82, was in Cox Road, Alresford, when she tripped on the crumbling pavement on Saturday.

She suffered a broken nose, bruising to her face and broken dentures.

She has joined calls from Alresford Parish Council for swift action on poorly maintained pavements in the village.

Mrs Pace, of Coach Road, said: “I fell flat on my face. I had not noticed how bad it was until it happened.

“It is very dangerous. I am hoping they will do something about it.”

Highways inspectors had visited the area last Tuesday and labelled the problems as “lowpriority non-urgent”.

Gazette:

Frank Belgrove, vice chairman of Alresford Parish Council, said: “It cannot be right that these defects in the pavements and footways in Alresford are being viewed by Essex County Council Highways as low-priority issues.

“We now have a resident who has suffered facial injuries after a fall on one of the poorly-maintained pavements.

“The parish council is very concerned and we appeal to Essex County Council to reassess the non-priority status of this issue.”

The parish council has also been backed by county councillor Alan Goggin.

In a letter to Mr Belgrove, an Essex County Council spokesman said: “We unfortunately have to make difficult decisions when deciding on which maintenance issues we prioritise due to the wide-ranging function of highway maintenance.

"It is essential we have a robust prioritisation process that allows us to focus on the areas of greatest need with all service requests being assessed and prioritised according to their level of severity.”