A pensioner has been left housebound after she broke her hip stepping on a loose slab in Glasgow city centre.
Morag Herbertson, 80, was walking towards Argyle Street when she suddenly slammed into the pavement outside Pizza Hut at the four corners.
Prior to the fall, which happened on February 27, Morag had enjoyed an active lifestyle and was often out the house.
The pensioner, from Riddrie in the north east of the city, told Glasgow Live that she used to go out four days a week.
Morag said: "It's always get up, get dressed, get out, go for your breakfast. At 9.30am I'd be in the city centre. That morning there were quite a lot of people on the bus.
"I got off and walked towards Argyle Street. I was just at Pizza Hut when I hadn't a clue about what happened. One minute I was walking the next minute I was on the pavement.
"I thought I had tripped. I remember that I was lying on my back and for the half hour I was there I told people to not touch my leg.
"The ambulance scooped me up and it was half an hour back before I was in hospital. We arrived at half 10 but I wasn't taken up to a ward until 1.50pm.
"I was told I'd get the operation on Tuesday, however, it ended up being the Wednesday morning."
Morag has been left feeling like those living in the neighbouring Barlinnie Prison following the incident.
She has not stepped outside since the accident and has only recently been given the green light to take the stairs to the second floor of her flat.
The 80-year-old said: "I can't get out. I've only been allowed back upstairs recently and that's where my bedroom is.
"My son brought my bed downstairs to the living room. The therapists came recently to check the stairs outside and they said there is no way I could go out until a rail is put up.
"I think the prisoners in Barlinnie have a better time than me because I can't do anything.
"I am waiting for someone to now look at my shower because carers have looked at it and told me I can't use it."
The sprightly OAP has placed the blame on the council after the faulty slab completely destroyed her quality of life.
Morag describes the pain in her hip as "still a seven or eight out of 10."
However, she has been told by solicitors that Glasgow City Council will not take any liability because the slab had not been reported prior to the incident.
The news disappointed Morag, who feels like she is being punished for something that wasn't her fault.
She said: "When I got the phone call from Digby Brown to say they couldn't proceed because Glasgow City Council don't have proof that it was reported before I fell and it would be thrown out of court.
"It was all about ifs. I haven't been out the house since February 27, which is the day I arrived at hospital. The ambulance brought me back to my room.
"All I've been doing is knitting topsy turvy dolls and now I've ran out of wool."
The council say the loose slab which injured Morag has now been fixed and that they have received no claim regarding the incident.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “We have received no claim in relation to this incident, either from the member of the public or from her solicitor.
“All claims in relation to the roads network are determined on the individual merits of each case and within the context of our inspection and repairs policy.
“The paving slab in question has been assessed by our roads team and a repair undertaken.”
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