'Pavement potholes make me feel invisible'

A wheelchair user says she feels trapped in her own home due to pavement potholes in the town where she lives.

Bebe Newton, from Ilkeston, Derbyshire, said it was "just pothole after pothole" navigating some pavements in the area, and has called for potholes on pavements to be treated with the same urgency as those on the roads.

The 41-year-old, who suffers from multiple chronic illnesses since contracting Covid-19 in 2021, said the pain from hitting uneven surfaces like potholes can leave her out of action for "days if not weeks", especially if she experiences a flare-up.

Derbyshire County Council said it aimed to repair potholes on footpaths "as quickly as possible where appropriate".

The mother-of-three told the BBC she had to replace an electric wheelchair as it became "rickety from constant damage", with the front wheel eventually buckling and snapping off in Ilkeston's East Street.

Due to her conditions, which include fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), she can be in agony from doing something as simple as making her way down the pavement.

Newton said thought of having obstacles right outside her front door made her feel "insignificant and invisible".

"It's the mental and emotional load that you're carrying all the time, having to always almost be one step ahead of what you would be if you were able-bodied," she said.

Newton said there was "more noise" about holes on the roads because more people were affected while it was a "smaller community" impacted by potholes on pavements so "the noise isn't there and the awareness isn't there".

She said she wanted politicians to "have a go" and get a "lived experience of disability, not necessarily just wheelchair but from other perspectives such as visual impairment and other mobility issues" to get a better understanding of the challenges they present.

Disability ambassador Dr Amo Raju said councils had used a "sticking plaster approach" to repairing potholes on roads and footpaths.

He said scooters or electric wheelchairs were an economic and emotional investment, adding that he knew of people who would not leave the house because they had lost confidence in the equipment.

Dr Raju added this had an "extreme impact" on disabled people.

Since November 2023, Derbyshire County Council said 13,304 footway potholes have been reported and 11,196 have been repaired across the whole county.

In the Erewash area, 597 were reported and 489 repaired in the same period.

The figures comprise reports from members of the public that have been verfied by highway inspectors who also carry out routine inspections.

Charlotte Hill, cabinet member for highways, said teams were sent out to inspect and repair potholes on footpaths "as quickly as possible where appropriate".

"Our teams are currently out and about around Derbyshire carrying out resurfacing of many of our footpaths," she said.

"We are investing over £3m this financial year in footway resurfacing as part of the Highways Capital Programme, to improve the condition of the footpaths throughout the county."

Listen to BBC Radio Derby on Sounds and follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.