A WHEELCHAIR-bound pensioner says she can no longer visit her daughter due to the shocking state of the pavements on a busy road in Colchester.

Jean Robinson, 73, has been demanding Essex County Council get its act together and repair the paths in Mersea Road, Colchester.

However, despite repeated requests to the council over more than a month, no action has been taken.

Mrs Robinson says the situation is so dire she has had to stop visiting her daughter Jo, who lives on the Colchester Garrison estate, until the paths are fixed.

She said: “I normally go every couple of weeks but I have not been for a couple of months because I cannot risk it.

“I contacted the council a month ago and they said they are looking into it but they could not give me any idea when it might be sorted.

“Somebody must know if it is a priority. It should be because there is no way of getting down there in a wheelchair.

“There is broken parts of the pavement and big holes in it. There is going to be a bad accident there.”

Mrs Robinson is wheelchair-bound after having an operation on her hip and although she expects to be walking again eventually, she doesn’t want other wheelchair users to suffer or be put at risk.

She said: “I know it is dangerous. My wheelchair got caught and I nearly fell into the road.

“Even if someone is pushing me, my chair gets caught in the potholes.

“It is frustrating and I have not seen pavements this bad before.”

A spokesman for Essex Highways apologised to Mrs Robinson and wished her a speed recovery.

He said: “We work hard within the resources we have to keep our pavements up to scratch.

“Defects can vary in severity.

“Understandably, safety-critical defects are our priority and we repair those first.

“We are aware of a number of less severe footway defects in Mersea Rd and we would hope to repair those at a future date, when resources allow.”