'I'm being put in danger by unsafe pavements'

A woman who uses a wheelchair says the state of pavements in her town often forces her into the "dangerous" situation of having to use the road.

Alicia Cartwright, 41, says "poor quality pavements, blocked routes, pavement parking and a lack of usable dropped kerbs" in Preston have made journeys around the city "dangerous and inaccessible".

She is now calling on Lancashire County Council to carry out a review of all pavements and dropped kerbs to make them more accessible.

Lancashire County Council said: "Pavements are inspected regularly, with busier routes checked more frequently, and any safety defects are prioritised for repair based on their severity and risk to the public."

The mum of two has resorted to attaching bike lights to her wheelchair in a bid to stay safe.

"I have reflective items all over my wheelchair as well just so people are more likely to notice me," she said, "and I just have to be scared, but it's that or not leave the house."

Mel Close, chief executive at the charity Disability Equality North West said the issue "was more common than you would think".

She explained: "If those bad pavements are on a regular route, then it's every single day that you're putting up with it.

"Some pavements are really bad because they're poorly maintained or just through age they start to crumble, but others would actually be good pavements but they're being misused."

Both agree that cars parked on pavements can cause serious issues.

Cartwright said: "It just makes me feel like I'm not a priority, the amount of times I end up discussing this and the amount of times people say 'I park there because otherwise I'd have to walk five minutes around the corner', but what could be a slight inconvenience for a driver can put me in real danger and cause me real injury."

She added: "I just want people to realise, because I'm sure the person who's parked the car hasn't done it thinking 'oh great I'm going to block a wheelchair user here', it's just not crossed their mind."

She is clear about what should happen: "I want to see the council prioritising this and actually looking at the condition of pavements and making it much easier to report a defect.

"The other thing I want is a public awareness campaign."

Lancashire County Council added: "We recognise that pavement condition and accessibility are important issues, particularly for people who are visually impaired or less mobile.

"Members of the public can report pavement defects to the county council, and these reports help us target inspections and repairs where they are most needed, requests for new or improved dropped kerbs can also be submitted via the council's contact centre, where locations are assessed and prioritised based on need."