Residents taking action to fix 'dangerous' Northampton alleyway

The alleyway pavement is cracked and covered in moss and mud

People living near a "dangerous" alleyway are raising money to get it repaired.

They say it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt on the path on Gloucester Avenue, in the Far Cotton area of Northampton.

They have started a crowdfunder which has so far collected more than £1,400 of a £7,000 target.

West Northamptonshire Council said it was an unadopted path so it could not repair it.

The alleyway runs between Gloucester Avenue and Friar's Crescent, and has huge cracks in the tarmacadam across the path.

Piles of green moss and mud make the surface difficult to walk on, and there is also a slope to the path.

Chris Antoniou believes someone might get killed on the alleyway unless something is done

Chris Antoniou has lived on Friar's Crescent since 1972 and has been trying to get something done about the alleyway for some time.

He said: "One lady, a year ago, she fell down. A bottle went in her neck, eight months in hospital and she survived by inches."

He believes winter is a particularly dangerous time to use the alleyway, because the cracks in the pavement cannot be seen if there is snow on the ground.

Mr Antoniuo has been told that it would cost £3,000 to repair the surface and another £100 to deliver the materials.

Any surplus money raised will be donated to charity.

Chris Antoniou is determined to raise enough money to get the alleyway repaired

The council told the BBC that as the alleyway was not adopted, it was not the council's responsibility.

The people's alleyway

One of the ward councillors, Julie Davenport, said: "We've been campaigning for this alleyway, intermittently, for at least 10 years, but all we're told is, if they repaired one, they would have to repair all of them that are not adopted.

"If individual councils could put a certain amount of money away each year towards these alleyways, at least we're addressing it, because, if we're doing nothing, it's going to get worse."

Mr Antoniou said he was determined to get something done: "I've been here for so many years, before somebody gets killed, I want to do something and leave my name behind.

"I was going to call it 'Chris's Alleyway', but I'll probably call it "the People's Alleyway'."