28807/1AN 81-year-old woman left with cracked ribs and needing stitches after tripping over uneven paving stones in Melksham is planning to sue Wiltshire County Council.

Gladys Fullam, of Talbot Close, is seeking legal advice and writing to the local authority in an attempt to highlight the dangers poorly kept pavements in the town pose to the elderly.

Passers-by ignored the incident, which happened close to the Post Office in Church Street, and it was left to Mrs Fullam's arthritic husband, George, to help his wife back to her feet, before taking her for treatment at Melksham Community Hospital.

But this week officers at the county council said the authority might not be responsible for the pavement where Mrs Fullam fell.

She said she was confined to her bed for nearly a week through pain after the incident 10 days ago.

"We have written a letter to explain everything that happened, to inform the council that it was very dangerous and that I'll be suffering for the next six weeks," she said.

"I was up all night shaking after the incident."

Mrs Fullam's daughter, Kay Morris, of Arden Close, said the incident was unacceptable and the wobbly pavement could prove potentially lethal for pedestrians.

"It could have ended up more serious," she said.

"I think something's got to be done otherwise there will be more accidents.

"It doesn't matter whether they are old or young, it just needs to be dealt with."

The family have been in contact with solicitors in Bristol, who are taking up the matter with the council.

Stephanie Cope, a partner in the injury claims department said: "The claim is in its very early stages and a letter of claim has yet to be sent to the council.

"As to whether Mrs Fullam's claim will succeed, that will depend on whether the council can show it has a reasonable system of inspection in place for identifying defects."

But when informed of the steps being taken by Mrs Fullam, Wiltshire County Council denied owning the land, claiming the immediate area surrounding the Post Office is private land.

A spokesman for the council said: "I am sorry to hear about Mrs Fullam's accident.

"To date we have not received any complaints about the paved area outside the post office.

"We believe that this is on private land owned by the Post Office and does not form part of the public highway.

"We will be sending an engineer down to look at the site and if there appears to be a safety problem we will contact the Post Office to suggest that they should take action to address it."