WHEN grandmother June Ferguson tripped on a staircase and plunged down 14 steps the aftermath resembled a serious assault.

The 54-year-old, from Summerston, broke several bones in her face and split her head open after falling down the stairs in the close of her flat.

However, she says despite repeated attempts by YourPlace Property Management - the factoring arm of Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) - which factors the block in Glasgow's Geary Street, the steps have not been fully repaired.

June says she tripped on an uneven surface at the top of the stairs, left after a metal tread had come off, when she was taking her bull mastiff Toby out for a walk.

The fall, in January 2011, left her with seven metal plates in her face and she was unable to leave her house because of a fear of walking down stairs.

June said: "I was taking the dog out but on the first step I tripped and fell face first down - I was flat out like Superman. It felt like a helter skelter, because I must have been trying to grab the bannister as I fell. I heard a crack in my face. As I tried to sit up one of my teeth fell out."

June said the first thing she thought was that she would have to take time off work at supermarket Asda, to go to the dentist. Toby then helped to pull her up the stairs because she couldn't stand.

She said: "When I got to my house and looked in the bathroom mirror I got the shock of my life.

"I realised I had a hole in my forehead - blood was pouring out and my face was like a pumpkin."

She phoned her husband Tommy - a handyman - who rushed home and drove her to Stobhill Hospital before they went to the Southern.

June's neighbour Caroline McDonald, 43, said: "It was like a massacre. There were bloody hand prints up the wall, it looked like a murder scene."

After she was examined June realised the extent of her injuries. She had a broken top and bottom jaw, broken cheek, nose and eye socket, as well as fractures behind her eyes. She was bruised across the whole left hand side of her body.

A five-hour operation the next day saw medics place seven plates in June's face

And doctors told June how lucky she was. The grandmother-of-six said: "They told me they could repair my face. They said they wouldn't have been able to repair my brain."

June was worried about seeing her grandchildren because she thought they would be scared of her.

She said: "They now say: 'Granny went to the same school as Harry Potter' because of the scar on my forehead."

The stair was repaired but residents say it didn't last. Earlier this year a metal tread was put on but, again, it did not last. And last Thursday a temporary repair was made.

June said: "It makes you paranoid that a child will get their feet caught, or someone else will just trip and go the same way I went.

"I just want it sorted once and for all."

A spokesman for YourPlace Property Management said: "We are sorry to hear about Mrs Ferguson's injuries and will continue to do all we can to help her.

"As soon as any concerns have been raised by Mrs Ferguson, we have carried out repairs as soon as possible. We are working with a specialist contractor to complete a further repair and find a long-term solution."

rachel.loxton@eveningtimes.co.uk