Woman breaks ankle tripping over pothole in Daventry town centre

Mandy Dyson was walking to the town centre from her home on the Southbrook with her grandson Jayden Adams on the evening of Monday last week.

Having cut through the church graveyard, they were crossing Church Walk when Mrs Dyson tripped on a pothole and went over on her ankle.

She was left immobile in the middle of the quiet road with a broken ankle. She also injured her hand and knee.

Because Mrs Dyson could not move, her grandson Jayden, eight, ran off down to Casey’s Club where he raised the alarm and paramedics were called.

Mrs Dyson’s daughter and mother of Jayden Chenade Adams said: “They were just walking into the town when it happened by the church.

“I think the county council needs to do something about it. If my mum had fallen over and hit her head she might not be here because she has a shunt in her brain.

“It’s a fairly big pothole – several inches across and an inch or two deep.

“It might not be big enough to worry a car, but roads aren’t just for vehicles.”

The location is a busy pedestrian route in and out of the town centre.

The time of day meant the road was dark, and what street lighting there is can be blocked by trees. Add to that the amount of leaves on the roads and pavements, and it can be difficult to see problems like potholes along that road.

The road is also a dead-end for vehicles, so there are fewer motorists going at a much slower speed to notice and report potholes.

Mrs Adams said: “Jayden was so brave. He knew he needed to get help so he ran down the road to get someone to help.

“Jayden does know how to call 999 because of his gran’s illness. But that’s usually indoors.

“This time he was outside in the dark, I just think it’s amazing and that he was really brave.”

A spokesman for Northamptonshire County Council said: “We are committed to maintaining the quality of the county’s roads and carry out regular inspections to see what maintenance work needs to be carried out. These inspections assess any defects present, including both the carriageway and footway, against defined intervention criteria.

“Anyone who needs to report a pothole can do this through our Streetdoctor service www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/streetdoctor. They will receive a reference number and can track the progress of their call.”