A FUMING resident believes she is lucky she did not shatter her hip after tripping on a badly cracked pavement leaving her with a broken foot and unable to walk.

Dawn Staley, 61, from Clacton, was walking in Lymington Avenue alongside her friend as they made their way to collect a takeaway.

All of a sudden her foot hit a hole in the road and she instantly fell to the ground in pain, before eventually getting up and managing to make her way home.

After initially thinking she had just badly bruised her foot, Dawn woke up the next morning unable to walk, so immediately headed to the Clacton Hospital.

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Following a round of x-rays and examinations she was eventually informed by doctors that she had snapped a metatarsal bone.

“They put me in a surgical boot which I now have to wear for seven weeks,” said a frustrated Dawn.

“This could have happened to somebody much older and it could have been more serious - thankfully my friend was with me.

“I am lucky I did not break my hip as well because this road is awful around here, so I really feel that something needs to be done.”

Homeowners in Lymington Avenue have long complained about the state of the road, regularly highlighting the dangers it poses to both residents and motorists.

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Over the last three years, for example, campaigners have managed to acquire more than 300 signatures as part of a petition urging Essex Highways to resurface the road.

Dawn added: “I know there has been complaining going on, but I am now going to be putting in a claim in to the council.

“I have sustained an injury because of their bad pavements.”

A spokesman for Essex Highways has now responded to Dawn's complaints.

He said: "We are sorry to hear of this resident’s nasty fall and we hope she makes a full and speedy recovery.

"We have arranged for an inspector to go to site and if there are found to be significant safety hazards then the area will be made safe as a priority.”