Irritated residents living on a road 'littered with potholes' have called for changes after a woman fractured her ankle walking across the street. Jane Hedges, who lives in Arnold, was walking her dog through Arnot Hill Park on December 8 before making her way through to Arnot Hill Road, Arnold.
Along the journey, she crossed the street where it meets with Conway Gardens and caught the edge of her toe on a large pothole in the middle of the road. Jane said she heard a 'crack' as she stumbled.
She said she felt sick after the incident but forced her way home before a friend took her to an urgent care centre. There she was told she had suffered an avulsion fracture on the lateral malleolus - in other words, part of the bone had chipped off.
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She has recovered since, but said the state of the road in Conways Gardens is 'appalling'. And others agree.
She said: "It was before Christmas. I'm walking the dog, I walk through Arnot Hill Park and I walk through the park, along the old railway track, back on to Arnot Hill Road and into Arnold.
"As I'm walking, paying no attention to where my feet are going, as we all do, I just caught the edge of the pothole on my toe from my ankle. I didn't fall over or anything - but I heard it crack.
"The dog was not pulling, I hasten to add, she was walking beautifully to heel. I just thought 'oh no!'
"I felt sick. I walked on a little bit, but obviously it was a bit painful.
"I then had to sit on a wall because I felt quite sick. I thought 'right, I have to get home'.
"I have no other way of getting home because I walk through, I don't drive to the park or anything. And then after about an hour or so a friend took me over to the urgent care centre.
"They X-rayed it and it is an avulsion fracture of the lateral malleolus. So basically the end of the bone has chipped off.
"I didn't even need a boot or anything because it's just literally the tip of the end. But the bruising is amazing.
"That was on the Thursday and then on the Monday I went to the fracture clinic and they basically just said to carry on taking painkillers. So three-and-a-half weeks on it's still uncomfortable at times but I don't have to take painkillers anymore.
"The state of the road is appalling and there are potholes all over it. As you cross over the road it's there.
"The state of the road is unbelievable. That little bit of Conway Gardens - you can see that there's potholes all the way down it."
Residents living on the road have also complained about the state of the street. Retiree Kenneth Harpham, 84, who lives in Conway Gardens, said: "We had people come out last week to try and fix them but not much has changed. I've lived here four years now and it's been like this the whole time.
"There are big holes everywhere. There's a big one over there [on Arnot Hill Road] that's been tarmacked over because there was the pothole there but we also used to have a problem with rats.
"There were rats coming out of there all the time. It's dangerous, the holes.
"I'm not surprised someone has hurt themselves. I think I would too if I went too close to them."
Steve Harrison, 64, works as a podiatrist and said he can't remember the last time the roads were resurfaced. He added: "We have noticed them for a bit. You've got cars driving up and down the road all the time and you can hear it sometimes when they're driving over them.
"We've lived here for 34 years - I can't remember the last time it was resurfaced to be honest."
Nottinghamshire County Council confirmed that the pothole which caused Jane's fractured ankle has since been repaired. The council highlighted Conway Gardens as an example of a road they would like to 'prioritise.'
Gary Wood, Head of Highways and Transport at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We were made aware of a pothole on Conway Gardens in Arnold on 30 December 2022. Our teams undertook works to repair this on 3 January 2023 and we would like to wish the local resident a speedy recovery.
“We have not received any further reports of potholes on this street in the last two years and would like to ask residents to report any issues to us through either our ‘report a pothole’ section on our website, or by using the My Notts App. https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/transport/roads/potholes/report-a-pothole
“Conway Gardens is an example of the kind of local road that we want to prioritise for repair following our Highways Review and we will investigate whether this street can be included as part of any future resurfacing or preventative maintenance schemes.”
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