Little Chalfont OAP, 86, suffers fractured knee after fall

Gloria Rose had parked her car in a layby along Nightingales Corner in the village on Wednesday, May 22.

Upon leaving her vehicle, she fell over a damaged brick on the pavement which resulted in a fractured knee and severe bruising.

She is now suggesting that Buckinghamshire Council ‘should have sorted out the issue sooner’ which could have prevented her accident.

Mrs Rose's knee is currently in a brace (Image: NA)

She told the Free Press: “I ended up on my face and if the hairdresser [from Paul & Dragas Hair Studio] wasn’t looking outside of his window to see all of this happening, it would have been pretty disastrous.

“He ran out, quickly picked me up and took me to a nearby physiotherapist, and whilst they weren’t there, I was able to sit down.

“It hasn’t been good - I feel awful.

“I went to the hospital and was kept in overnight because they were worried.

“Along with this, it impacted my balance so I fell when I got home and damaged my back so I’m in a mess.”

Gloria had been living independently prior to the fall but has since moved in with her daughter, Charlotte, who also lives in the Croxley Green in Hertfordshire. 

She explained that the two have had ‘difficult conversations’ about the long-term future, as they ‘don’t know’ the pensioner will fully physically recover from the fall.

She said: “My mum is 86-years-old but she’s very independent so whilst she’ll be fine mentally, physically? I don’t know.

The damaged brick (Image: NA)

“She lives around the corner from me, she goes to the shops and does what she needs to do but she’s not been able to do any of that.

“She was in bed for the first week and after I just thought it would be better if I was able to bring her here.

“She’s dismayed by it all as she can’t do anything and the problem is that when you get to that age, it’s harder to get back up and running again.

The incident happened on May 22 (Image: NA)

“I’m not trying to be dramatic, but she’ll have to be in this cast for eight-to-10 weeks where she just can’t move her leg, this will take its toll on her.

“It’s not the immediate, it’s the future as this has impacted us massively.”

A Buckinghamshire Council spokesperson said: “We are very sorry to hear about this incident and understand how distressing it is for the resident concerned and her family. 

"Buckinghamshire Council has a robust highway inspection policy, which includes footways.

"We investigate all reports logged on Fix my Street, as well as undertaking our own routine inspections.  

"Where we find a dangerous defect, work will be ordered to take place in an appropriate timescale.

"We also have a process for making a claim for personal injuries if a person involved in an incident of this nature feels we have not acted appropriately.”