Multiple injuries at busy crossing
Keith and Jean Helliwell
A HUGE pothole on a busy crossing in Market Rasen has injured four victims in less than two weeks.
The pothole at the Market Place pedestrian crossing has left four elderly people with awful injuries after they tripped on it while making their way to the other side of the road.
Middle Rasen pensioner Keith Helliwell was knocked to the ground after wife Jean tripped on the pothole and fell into him.
An ambulance was called and Keith, who is 75, has been left with severe bruising to his left shoulder and side, pains in his knuckles, a graze on his elbow and a black eye.
His injuries are so bad Keith cannot drive, he finds it painful to sit down and is even having problems getting to sleep at night.
Godson Andrew Codd is furious and said he would be complaining to the council. He said: “I’m absolutely livid – there shouldn’t be a pothole on a main pedestrian crossing. It’s clearly dangerous.”
Keith, who lives in Mayfield Crescent with his wife Jean, said: “When the lights changed to green a lot of people crossed the road – Jean didn’t see the pothole and tripped. As she tried to save herself she fell into me, it was so quick.
“The pain I’m in now is unbelievable. I haven’t slept properly since and it’s difficult to get out of bed.”
Jean, who was left with a large bruise on her left knee, said a lot of people rushed to help and they were taken into Cooplands to get over the initial shock.
She said: “It could have been worse if a child had fallen – a driver might not have seen them or someone could have been knocked out if they hit their head off the kerb.”
Cooplands manager Laura Warmoth said: “I haven’t seen anything like this. It’s shocking that so many people have fallen in such a short space of time.
“The only good thing to come out of this is the community spirit – it’s been fantastic. The shop was rammed with people trying to help when the first lady fell.”
Lincolnshire County Council’s area highways manager Steve Wiles said: “We aim to keep the roads safe through regular inspections and this particular road is looked at once a month.
“We also depend on residents reporting potholes to us at the earliest possible opportunity before they become dangerous. This pothole was reported to us and repaired promptly.”
Steve is urging Rasen Mail readers to report road defects online at lincolnshire.gov.uk/highwaysdefects or by calling 01522 782070.
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Weather for Market Rasen
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North
