Pensioner lay unconscious in huge 5ft pothole after tripping backwards
A terrified pensioner lays unconscious in an image that brings more shame on Britain's pothole-riddled streets.
Ann Nightingale tripped over as she briefly stopped on a pavement to say goodnight to a friend as the heel of the 77-year-old's shoe caught on the crater behind her. That causing her to fall backwards and crack her head on the edge of the 5ft long pothole, knocking her out.
Shocked friend Kevin Dunn, a former HR manager on the QEII passenger liner, feared her injuries were fatal but thankfully Mrs Nightingale came round in the ambulance and was treated in hospital for an enormous lump on the back of her head. She was kept under observation before being released the next day.
The grandmother was wearing a thick winter coat at the time and she believes this may have softened her fall. Mr Dunn went back to photograph the pothole outside the Connaught Hotel Best Western in Bournemouth, Dorset, two days later to find it had already been filled in. The local authority had it covered up and smoothed over.
But Mr Dunn and Mrs Nightingale have slammed BCP Council for not doing more to maintain the roads and pavements of the popular holiday resort. Mrs Nightingale, from Exmouth, Devon, said has made a complaint and is considering seeking legal advice.
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She said: "It does seem that potholes in roads are everywhere but you should feel safe while walking on a pavement and expect a level surface.
Ann Nightingale tripped on the rubble created by the pothole in Bournemouth (KevinDunn/BNPS)
She caught her heel before hitting her head on the pavement (HNP Newsdesk/Hyde News & Pictures Ltd)"I know that I was very lucky. Had I been a frailer person or had a different coat on then I probably would have cracked my skull and may have died or suffered brain damage." Mrs Nightingale had been invited on a two day break in Bournemouth by her recently-widowed friend Jan Manning, 81.
The ladies met up with friend and Bournemouth resident Mr Dunn, whom they knew from their days travelling on the QEII, for a meal out at a Chinese restaurant on the night of March 6. Mr Dunn, 66, had just walked the pair back to their hotel when the incident happened.
He said: "The restaurant was within walking distance of the hotel. As we reached the hotel I said goodnight and Ann went to hug me and she just fell. Her heel went into the pothole and she went backwards into the hole. I thought she was dead. I bent down and said 'Ann, can you hear me?' She was just lying there."
Mrs Nightingale, a retired hotelier, said: "I didn't realise I was stood right by this pothole because it was dark. "I was saying goodnight to Kevin and I just stepped back and my heel must have caught the edge and it threw me off kilt and the next thing I fell backwards and my head bounced off the pavement with a thud.
A council spokesperson said they had not been made aware of the pothole (BNPS)"It was like someone had hit me over the head with a baseball bat. The pain was excruciating. In that moment I thought 'I'm not going to get away with this, I'm dead'. After that it all went fuzzy. The next thing I remember is being in the back of the ambulance with a huge lump on the back of my head."
Mrs Nightingale added: "It is still tender and sore nearly a week later. "I am going to complain and will think about legal advice. It needs to be highlighted. It has made me very wary about where I walk and tread now. It is such a shame because Jan and I had a lovely stay in Bournemouth but this is all I am going to remember it for."
Mr Dunn added: "The pavement on the road is awful and a major defect of the council's responsibility. "The council needs to spend money on fixing the roads. It is one thing to have your car damaged, but my dear friend could have died because of a pothole." A BCP Council spokesperson confirmed they had not been made aware of this pothole before the accident of March 6.
They said: "We're sorry to hear of Ms Nightingale's situation. Our highway inspection team have been made aware of the location of this incident and will attend at the earliest opportunity. Our teams carry out regular inspections of the network and complete an average of 8000 repairs to the network per year. We urge people to report areas of concern online."
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