Damaged pavement caused pensioner to trip and smash his nose in Falkirk town centre

William Scarlett, from Bainsford, was walking along the pavement just before 11am on Saturday, October 5, when his foot caught the piece of paving and he fell to the hard concrete.

William said: "There was blood coming from my nose and the keys I had in my pocket had pressed into my wallet and my chest. The girl from the hairdressers came out and helped me until I was taken away in an ambulance.

"I was at the hospital for four hours and now I'm home. I'm still sore - it will be about four or five weeks before I recover."

William contacted Falkirk Council when he got home and told them about the pavement.

"I don't want any money from them," he said. "I just want them to get the finger out and fix the pavement before someone else falls and really hurts themselves. I heard that a lady had fallen on the same pavement a little while ago."

The Falkirk Herald walked the pavement today and noticed some traffic cones and a barrier had been placed around the offending section of paving.

A Falkirk Council spokesman said: "‘We will carry out a full repair next week, however, we did respond to the complaint within our expected timescales and put cones and barriers in place.

"We are naturally concerned that anyone is injured and would encourage anyone to report pavement defects via www.falkirk.gov.uk or by contacting (01324) 506070."