A man said that "something needs to be done" after his father-in-law fell off a kerb and broke his hip.
Paul Foster said his 82-year-old father-in-law was walking across Moor Street in Ormskirk on May 5 when he fell. He had not seen the drop and while he was being helped by staff from the Queen's Head a woman walked off the kerb, fell, and, broke her arm.
This is just one of many incidents reported of people injuring themselves on Moor Street. Paul said that the reason so many accidents have taken place is because the new kerb is a similar colour to the road and so people don't see the drop.
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Paul told the ECHO: "He went to the Natwest Bank and got money out, he was crossing over to the card shop. His vision is good, and he wears glasses for reading but that is it. As he was walking along he went off the kerb, broke his hip, and was in hospital for two weeks.
"They picked him up as he could not stand and another woman fell while they were picking him up. So they happened on the same day. The staff from the Queens Head were really good with him and the manager said that that is the fourth time an ambulance has been called within three weeks.”
In 2022 as part of the £3.4 million Ormskirk Eastern Gateway Project, the existing kerb and pavement on Moor Street were replaced with natural stone. Lancashire County Council have now said that they will be carrying out further work to "increase the contrast between the two surfaces."
Paul's father-in-law waited over four hours for an ambulance to arrive and was taken inside the Queen's Head pub to wait. According to Paul, another woman had also fallen over the week before.
Other incidents have been reported in the Ormskirk Community Group on Facebook, with one picture showing a man sitting in a chair being attended to by two people after falling off the kerb. Comments in the group said: "I fell here in April, luckily I was okay, just a few bruises. Hopefully they amend the design."
Another person said: "Took another few victims last night including myself and my friend [got] seriously hurt on Friday. They have got to sort this."
Paul 56, said: "The reason why people keep falling over is that the new pavement is yellow and the kerbstone is the same colour as the road so you can’t see the drop. It looks like the drop is a lot shorter than it actually is.
"It needs to be changed and soon, it is just so wrong.”
A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "The height of the new kerbs is generally around 60mm which follows feedback from mobility groups about the minimum height required for visually impaired people to be able to detect them, particularly when using a cane.
"The colour of the kerbs and road surface are different and were chosen to match those previously used in Ormskirk town centre, however following the recent incidents we will be carrying out further work to the increase the contrast between the two surfaces. Whilst this work is arranged, pedestrian access to certain lengths of footway will be restricted with temporary barriers."
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