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Rodley footpaths branded 'potential deathtrap'
Footpaths in Rodley have been branded a potential deathtrap after an 88-year old woman tumbled out of her wheelchair.
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Olga Ridley now fears going out alone after the fall in Town Street when her wheelchair got stuck in a large pothole and she fell out.
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Locals say the area has been neglected for years by highways bosses and are demanding an immediate overhaul of the area's paths, which they say are littered with potholes and have chunks of paving missing.
Mrs Ridley, 88, said she had become virtually housebound after taking the tumble .
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She told Calverley Today: "I don't go into town now. I can't face the footpaths by myself.
"I used to go out on my scooter but now I have to rely on people all the time. The state of the pavements is disgusting.
"I was going over a pipe when I got stuck and fell out. I was only stopped by a parked car. If it had not been there I would have fallen into the road.
"I could have hurt myself badly. Next time somebody could be killed."
Mrs Ridley's neighbours Jeff and Marian Houseman are campaigning over the pavements.
Mr Houseman said the state of them was leaving many older people in Rodley trapped at home.
"There are a lot of older people who won't go out because of this, they have lost their confidence," Mr Houseman said. "You can't walk 100 yards in Rodley without seeing (potholes]. For a main road it's an absolute disgrace .
"It sickens me because we have so many older people here – it should be safer not worse."
Mrs Houseman said they and other campaigners had complained to Leeds City Council about the footpaths at least a dozen times but to no avail.
"We have been chasing them relentlessly ,"she said. The Housemans are
urging people to log all falls and incidents.
A Leeds City Council spokeswoman said: "We are aware that there are a few sections of footway which are in need of minor maintenance work.
"We plan to carry out an inspection and repair the worst areas this
financial year."
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Weather for Leeds
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
