A mum-of-two has been left with both ankles broken and a host of bruises after falling into a Manchester city centre pothole. The 68-year-old is now in ‘excruciating pain’ and has been told by doctors that it could be ‘six months’ before she makes a significant recovery.
Susan Kollatos was on her way out of work and walking through Stevenson Square at around 5.40pm on Saturday, August 20. Suddenly, she found herself on the ground having fallen into a pothole across the road from The Studio hair salon, having ‘twisted her left foot to the right, and her right foot to the left’.
At first, Susan believed she had only sprained the joints. But after being driven to hospital by her colleague, doctors discovered that they were looking at an ‘unusual’ incident of a patient with two broken ankles at the same time.
“It shook me up at first, I was laid out in the road. I’ve now got two black knees and black fingers as well. A pothole that size is nonsense in a public place like that, hundreds of people pass through there every day,” Susan told the Manchester Evening News .
“I live by myself and now I can’t move because I’ve got these boots on. I’ve got to rely on other people to get food - my son has to come round twice a day to give me breakfast and dinner.
“It’s the knock-on effects as well as the shock of the accident. It needs to be highlighted.
“I was just coming out of the office, it’s not like I’d had a drink or anything. Young children could fall down it and be seriously hurt.”
Susan, who lives in Leeds and was visiting Manchester for work, has a disabled parking badge as she also suffers fibromyalgia. Doctors expect that she will be in the heavy duty boots for at least six weeks and it could be six months before she is walking around comfortably again, Susan says.
Not only did Susan’s £125 trousers have to be cut away by medical staff, she is now ‘really annoyed’ she will have to pay out for new shoes to use in the next six months.
“I was in excruciating pain when it happened. The doctors told me it is really unusual to see someone with two broken ankles at the same time.
“I work freelance so I won’t have any income over this time.”
Staff from the hair salon have also complained multiple times about the potholes in the road, says Susan.
“A staff member came out of the hairdressers and said he’d reported the pothole four times already because his customers fall down it,” explained Susan. “I’ve reported it to the council but it just seems like they’re getting away with it.”
Andy Gosling, the staff member at The Studio, told the M.E.N. he has tried to report several ‘dangerous’ potholes - counting nine immediately outside the salon in total - to the council and passing council roadworks. He has never seen a result, he claims.
“These potholes have been here since before Covid-19. I’ve seen people trip, people fall down on the ground,” shared Andy.
“I’ve tried calling the council but had no joy. I’ve also sent a couple of emails but just got nowhere.
“The council are supposed to be redeveloping the square and say they’ll be resurfacing the road as part of that - but what about the interim? If you don’t know the area or if it’s dark at night, someone with a walking stick or walking aid could be seriously hurt.”
A Manchester City Council spokesperson said a repair will now be made to the pothole imminently: "We can confirm that we have received a complaint from a member of the public about a pothole in Stevenson Square this week. We have processes to follow to make sure that every complaint is dealt and resolved as quickly as possible.''
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