HAMPSHIRE County Council has repaired a pavement in Petersfield after pensioners took action to stop pedestrians tripping over “dangerous” slabs.
A county council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that works to repair the paving slabs were carried out on Tuesday, April 10.”
But the work was overdue say the pensioners, who formed a safety cordon around the section of pavement at the entrance to the Physic Garden off Petersfield High Street.
The slabs first started rocking and then lifting about three weeks ago they claim, and matters came to a head early on Tuesday morning after heavy overnight rain left them even more unsafe.
Pensioner Tony Gregory, of St Peter’s Court in the town centre, said: “They are dangerous, and could trip someone. A fall could be fatal for an elderly or disabled person.
“It has been getting worse for weeks.”
Jane Hilton was on her way to work at a charity shop in Petersfield when she came across the slabs.
She said: “I was so worried that I started warning people about them, especially the elderly.”
Within minutes willing helpers, including Physic Garden manager Jenny Hill, had formed a human safety cordon around the damaged area.
She said: “The recent rain has made this worse, and now it is very dangerous.”
Pensioner Ron Burton of Herne Farm added: “It has been like this for some time, it should never have been allowed to get this bad.”
After repeated attempts to alert the right council department, Jane managed to contact the council’s highways repair team.
She said: “I told them it was an emergency, but they couldn’t say when it would be put it right.”
In the meantime the ‘safety marshalls’ put borrowed bollards and homemade warning signs around the damaged pavement.
But within hours of Jane’s late-morning call, a council repair team arrived and by about 6pm the pavement was as good as new.
A council spokesman said that emergency defects were usually made safe within two hours.
To report a pothole or pavement problems visit the Hampshire County Council website at: www.hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/roadproblems/potholes