A PENSIONER is calling on the council to take action and fix a footpath damaged by vehicles before an accident happens.

Brian Husband of Partridge Road said he is furious that the council have left a pavement in High Oaks in disrepair for over four months and described the large crack in the concrete as a potential “death trap”, especially in icy conditions or during the recent snow.

The crack first appeared last summer and is thought to have been caused by heavy vehicles mounting the pavement.

Mr Husband said: “It’s just ridiculous really and I’ve seen council workers come down here three times, but each time they’ve simply replaced the signs which warn people that the path is closed or refilled the sandbags that keep the signs up.

“Well now those sandbags have gone and the signs have blown over and if it were to snow again then there are many people who wouldn’t be aware of the uneven ground and could seriously injure themselves.”

The 68-year-old said that his real concern was for people who have difficulty getting about, particularly the residents of the care home which is located nearby.

He added: “To be honest, it’s quite unbelievable and in the time it’s taking the council to level out a pavement, the church across the road has almost finished its building extension.”

Cllr Martin Leach has been supporting Mr Husband in his quest to get something done and said it was disheartening for residents to see their requests for work to be ignored.

Cllr Leach said that because of the state of the path, people using mobility scooters were having to go onto the busy road in order to get past.

He said: “It really is unfair and people just get to a point where they start to think, ‘do we matter?’

“I’ve lost track of the times I’ve tried to speak to someone about this issue since last summer.”

A spokesperson for Herts Highways said that they were looking into a more permanent solution to stop vehicles mounting the pavement because the situation kept occurring along this stretch of pavement.

She said that any work would not be completed until the new financial year.