Pavement plea after woman's mobility scooter crash

Ann Coleman fell from her mobility scooter as it travelled along wat her family said was a broken pavement

A woman in her 80s ended up in hospital after a mobility scooter crash which her family has blamed on a broken pavement.

Ann Coleman, 84, was tipped into Capenhurst Lane in Capenhurst, Cheshire, and trapped under her scooter.

Her daughter Joanna Pemberton said poor lighting was also a factor in the incident on Sunday, 10 March.

Cheshire West and Chester Council said it had found "no defects".

Ms Coleman fell from her mobility scooter as it was travelling along the pavement

Ms Pemberton, 64, a local vicar, said the road was "pitch black" and the uneven pavements covered in vegetation were “too much” for her mother’s vehicle.

She said a passing motorist stopped to help the pair out of the road but said the incident "could have been so much worse".

“The worst moment was seeing a car” heading up the road towards them, she said, adding: “I didn’t think he was going to stop - he did stop thankfully but they were driving too fast.”

An email from a local councillor, seen by the BBC, suggested the council had previously “ignored requests” for funding for extra street lighting along the stretch near Capenhurst train station.

Ms Coleman pictured with her daughter, Joanna, granddaughter Jane and great-grandson Frederik, had been out celebrating Mother's Day

The council has not yet responded to the claim but did say there “is some street lighting on the approach to the bridge”.

"We always aim to maintain any existing street lighting to the highest standards,” a council spokesperson said.

Ms Pemberton said the pathway was cleared after she reported the incident to the council.

Grandmother of 10 Ms Coleman, a former BT telephone operator, was discharged from the Countess of Chester on Sunday.

She said the incident had "the shine taken off” a Mother’s Day out with her family.