A DOTING husband whose wife’s health deteriorated after tripping over uneven paving stones and suffering a stroke says “money will not make her better”.

Margaret Griffiths, 71, was admitted to Colchester General Hospital’s Gainsborough Ward a month ago having had a stroke days after suddenly losing the feeling in both legs.

Husband Brian, 70, blames her spiralling physical and mental health on the avoidable fall she had in November last year, in Osborne Street, on her way to Gala Bingo.

The grandmother broke her right arm, dislocated and fractured her left shoulder, and has never been the same since.

At home she wore two slings, and her broken arm has still not healed.

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Brian took photos of the uneven paving stones in Osborne Street

He said: “She began having panic attacks, breathlessness, and has been depressed ever since it happened.

“Margaret kept a diary and all she wrote in it each day was how frustrated she felt. That’s how her mind was.

“I wasn’t the one wearing a sling but I can only imagine what it’s like to be happy and then all of a sudden you have a broken and dislocated shoulder.

“When you’re our age and get hit with something like this, you’re going to be depressed.

Essex County Council sent us a claim form but I’m more interested in getting my wife an apology. Money won’t make her better.”

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Margaret, now 71, during happier times

Mr Griffiths said her wife is now a “shell” of her former happy-go-lucky, healthy self.

Although she is undergoing speech therapy, sometimes he cannot understand what she is saying.

The stroke means she also cannot swallow food properly.

The couple, from Greenstead, Colchester have been married for 52 years.

Brian was 16 when he first met her but has no idea when his sweetheart will be home.

Tearfully, he said: “If I don’t visit, I fear she’ll give up. I’ve got to keep together.

“I can deal with broken bones and death but this I think is the worst thing that can happen to someone.

“To this day, the sunken paving stones are still the same, the whole town centre is a mess as far as paving goes.

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“I just want someone to be accountable. Nobody seems to give a damn.

“In this day and age if you can’t walk around the town centre safely without watching where you walk, what is going wrong?”

Ian Grundy, councillor responsible for highways at Essex County Council, said: “I’m very sorry indeed to hear about Mrs Griffiths’ condition and wish her a quick and good recovery.

“All town centre pavements in Colchester are walked by our qualified inspectors each month and all faults are logged and assessed for repair.

“As well as responding to faults, we have a programme of larger preventive resurfacing and rebuilding of pavements where their condition and use warrants it throughout Essex.”