A WOMAN in her 70s who sustained injuries when she tripped on a piece of pavement has now called for the cities streets to be better maintained.

Jenni Smith, 72, who has lived in Bitterne for around 30 years was taking her dog for a walk last Tuesday when she had her accident.

Whilst walking along Deacon Crescent she said her foot got caught on a drain that was slightly sticking out of the pavement, causing her to fall forwards onto her face.

Having managed to pull herself up, she then went home but later needed taking to A&E as she had developed a large bump on her head and a lot of grazes.

Although there were no internal injuries, Jenni has been left bruised and shaken.

She has not been able to go out walking since as she says she has no confidence since, and has also been advised not to drive as she is still unable to see properly out of one eye.

Having phoned the council after the incident to tell them what had happened, she said she hasn't heard from anybody, and thinks someone should have phoned her back.

She is also now calling on the council to do more to maintain the city streets, as she says the pavements are "in a terrible state".

Deputy leader and cabinet member for growth, Cllr Jeremy Moulton told the Echo: "First and foremost, we want to send our best wishes to the resident for a speedy recovery after this very unfortunate incident.

"We can confirm that we received a telephone call from the resident on 6 October and very promptly arranged for an inspection which took place on site the following day.

"Our inspector raised the defect as an emergency with Southern Water, who attended the site and placed a cone as a temporary measure ahead of carrying out repairs."

But Jenni said: "That cones been there for a week now and nothing's been done. Lets face it, someone will move it. Kids will move it for a laugh and a joke, it's just kids being kids but some of the pavements are so bad.

"I think the council should do more. It's not the worst that I've seen. It's obviously just been patched up so many times.

"Like a lot of the other pavements, it needs completely taking back to basics and re-doing. They never seem to do a proper job, they just seem to do a cheap job that will last for a little while."

Cllr Moulton added: "We will shortly be reinspecting the site to confirm that a full repair has been completed. We want to assure everyone that we take safety extremely seriously and this is at the height of our considerations when coordinating our highways programme across the city.

"While incidents of this nature are rare, any accident is one too many and is a stark reminder of how important it is to invest in our pavements and roads to make sure these are safe for everyone.

"In July we announced an additional £10m which is to be spent on improvements to local pavements and roads over the next two years, with work having already taken place at a number of sites across the city."