A 74-year-old woman fractured her foot after stumbling on a 3ft wide pothole that had been reported to Glasgow City Council NINE DAYS earlier.

Wilma Bennett needed surgery to correct the break, which left her having to use a wheelchair and endure months of pain.

She now uses walking sticks to get around, but says she is fearful about visiting the city centre.

Through lawyers, the aggrieved grandmother of three contacted the council to inquire about compen­sation - but was shocked to hear the local authority would not accept liability for the fall.

The council said the crater on the road in Osborne Street - which Mrs Bennett said was several inches deep - was deemed "safe for vehicles".

But it was not fixed until two weeks after she fell, nor was it marked out to alert drivers and pedestrians, because it was not on a "recognised crossing".

Mrs Bennett, who lives in Belvidere Crescent, Bishopbriggs, said: "I am outraged the council knew about this and it was left for me to fall on.

"There were no cones or paint to warn people to avoid it and two weeks after my fall this pothole was still there.

"When you are crossing the road in Glasgow you don't only need to look left and right - you have to look down as well to make sure you don't fall into a hole."

The retired shop worker fell just as she was about to start a day of shopping with husband James, also 74.

Mrs Bennett, whose hobby is craft making, was heading to Miller's Art Shop in Stockwell Street to buy some supplies.

She said: "It was a lovely sunny day and I was looking forward to going to my favourite shop. I remember thinking the city looked nice and clean and tidy.

"As I stepped off the pavement to cross Osborne Street, near the bus stops, I suddenly felt my foot sliding on gravel.

"The next thing I knew, I was on the ground in excruciating pain. I thought I had broken my hip."

Passers-by rushed to her aid and an ambulance was called to take her to the Royal Infirmary, where she had an operation to mend a broken metatarsal bone.

She was given a leg cast and walking sticks and had to use a wheelchair when outside for a long time.

Mrs Bennett said that before the accident she had no mobility problems and tests had shown she did not have osteoporosis.

She is now managing to get about more easily, but has not returned to the city centre.

She said: "It could have been so much worse. If somebody older than me had fallen they could have broken their hip.

"I have not been back into Glasgow city centre since, I am too fearful.

"I have always been very independent, but a wee bit of this has been taken away from me."

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "The presence of a defect does not mean the council is automatically liable for any alleged loss, injury or damage.

"The council has a system of inspection and planned maintenance in place to deal with road repairs. This takes into account a number of factors, such as the nature of defects and traffic density.

"Mrs Bennett has the right to request a review of her decision should she remain dissatisfied."

linzi.watson@ eveningtimes.co.uk