Slippery pavements in Downpatrick must urgently be cleaned by the council after a local resident was injured in what has been described as a "serious fall", a local MLA has said..
Patrick Brown, Alliance MLA for South Down MLA, has called on the local authority to bring the town into an equal footing with street cleaning in Newry.
The injured woman, who lives in the area, received medial treatment following the fall on Sunday afternoon. She did not wish to comment to the media.
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Assembly member for the area, Mr Brown said: "I was shocked to hear that on Sunday evening, a lady slipped on the public footpath in Downpatrick, as a result of the poor state of the pavement.
"This was reported to one of our local councillors, David Lee-Surginor, and it is my understanding that the pavement was slippery, almost like grease, due to the build up of dirt, spilt liquids and so on.
"I understand this was a serious fall causing her some pain, and I hope she is on her way to a speedy recovery.
"I have contacted the council in recent days regarding the poor state of the pavements in Downpatrick, and my colleague Cllr Lee-Surginor has reported this specific incident.
"It is important that Newry, Mourne and Down District Council carries out urgent cleansing of the Downpatrick area, and also looks at how it can bring forward plans to increase cleansing resources and ensure the Downpatrick area gets its fair share of cleansing.
"Unfortunately under the current set up, Newry estates are cleansed almost once a week, whereas estates in Downpatrick would be lucky to see a sweeper on an annual basis.
"This is yet another example of Downpatrick being the district's forgotten town, and we must all stand up and challenge this."
The concerns of the Assembly member have now been addressed by the council.
A spokesperson said: “Newry, Mourne and Down District Council carried out an inspection of the footpaths in Downpatrick on Monday 25 July.
"Contractors will be in the town centre as from Tuesday 26 July to carry out a deep clean of footpaths.”
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