Battered and bruised: Now pensioner wants pavements repaired

Mrs Aldersley, 76, became the latest elderly resident to fall foul of uneven paving slabs when she tripped and landed face first outside Sainsburys.

Two police officers came to her aid and insisted on calling paramedics who took her to the Conquest Hospital last Wednesday afternoon.

Her spectacles were broken and she has suffered from headaches ever since, but said she was lucky not to break any limbs because she suffers from brittle bone condition osteoporosis.

She said: "It was very painful and a big shock. It's gone down a lot now but my face came up like a balloon.

"My mother died from a fall in the street. It may be just a dodgy pavement for young people but it can kill, especially with a condition like osteoporosis.

"I may look pretty awful but if I broke a hip, which I could have done easily, I'd have been housebound for the rest of my life.

"It's the fourth time I've fallen on bad pavements.

"I'm very sprightly for my age but it's getting to the point where it's dangerous to go out."

Some friends phoned a solicitor to see if Mrs Aldersley had grounds for a compensation claim but were told she had little chance unless the slab was jutting out from the pavement more than an inch.

In this case it was just under an inch.

Mrs Aldersley, who lives at Pebsham, added: "But it was enough to make me fall over.

"It's become a regular thing for lots of old people and the whole town's like it.

"Western Road and Sackville Road are particularly bad.

"I'm determined to still go out but it is hazardous and ridiculous in this day and age that something like an uneven pavement can cost you your independence.

"Bexhill is a town with a big elderly population and it's not a poor town. It seems like such a simple thing just to get the pavements even."