Woman calls for Pwllheli pavement repair after fall

A woman who suffered a head injury after a fall on a street is calling for improvements to be made to the pavement.

Mary Rees, 68, was walking on Gaol Street, Pwllheli, at about 11:00 GMT on Saturday when she tripped on an uneven part of the pavement and hit her head.

She needed stitches and spent time in hospital.

Gwynedd council said it had looked at a number of options in the past and would discuss the matter again.

Ms Rees said she was going to visit a friend when she tripped.

"Someone came to my assistance and told me that I was bleeding," she said.

"I went to Bryn Beryl Hospital for stitches to my head, and I later had to go to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor as it got worse.

"I feel like a fool, I was only walking along the pavement and there was a bit of the pavement sticking up.

"I went back there to show my friend what had happened and I nearly fell over in exactly the same spot, even though I knew it was there.

"They need to do something about the state of these pavements, it's a disgrace."

The pavement is narrow and uneven

Her daughter, Karen Rees-Roberts, said it was not the first time someone has been injured on the road.

"It's an accident that's been waiting to happen," she said.

"So many people have fallen exactly where my mum did, but no one has complained before.

"Everyone has just been getting up and going home.

"The woman who runs the café has had to call the ambulance several times.

"I'm scared that someone might have to die before the consider doing something about this," Ms Rees-Roberts said.

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Another business owner on the street, Yvonne Whitfield, has helped people who have tripped on the pavement outside her clothes shop.

"I'm concerned about the narrowness of the pavement, and the fact that cars can't pass each other as they are going up and down.

"I myself walked down the road last year and a white van's wing mirror hit me on my arm.

Who is responsible for pavement repairs?

• Councils have a responsibility to keep the roads and footpaths safe to use

• Local authorities are responsible for maintaining the roads, pavements and footways of adopted highways throughout their areas

• They inspect adopted highways on a regular basis

• Areas of roads or pavements which are considered to be an imminent danger to road users or pedestrians are noted and repairs arranged

• Most council websites have an area to report problems with pavements, which they will respond to

Source: Welsh Local Government Association

"If that would have been a child it would have been head height and that is my main concern.

"I have also picked an elderly lady up from across the road who had fallen over, and I had to call an ambulance.

"The pavements here are in a terrible condition."

Mary Rees and her daughter Karen are worried someone could get more seriously injured

In 2016 the town council gave a petition to Gwynedd council calling for them to make the area a one-way system.

Dylan Bullard, a town councillor, said: "Pwllheli is an old town, with narrow streets, and the pavements are cracked which is a danger to pedestrians.

"We have had discussions with the council before about the issue.

"They did come up with ideas but we must look into the situation again".

A spokesperson for Gwynedd council said: "Officers from the council's transportation and street care service have been in discussion with representatives from Pwllheli Town Council regarding traffic-flow matters along Gaol Street in the town for some time and officers are happy to discuss the matter further with the town council."