Disabled woman forced to clear blocked pavement in Battle

Janet Carver said she and her son-in-law had to clear the pavement on North Trade Road near Battle after a grassy verge slipped onto the tarmac and made it too narrow to drive along.

The 77-year-old has called the situation ridiculous after East Sussex Council was unable to fix the problem.

Janet, who uses North Trade Road’s pavement as her only way to get into Battle, said: “They said they inspected the area and that no action was required. But they were looking at whether the pavement was uneven or not.

Janet Carver driving along the cleared pavement (Image: Quentin Carpenter)

“It’s dangerous, the traffic comes up the road so fast.

“It’s ridiculous, I was so angry and frustrated.”

After contacting East Sussex Highways, but to no avail, Janet’s son-in-law Quentin Carpenter, 55, took to North Trade Road with a shovel to clear the landslip off the pavement.

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Janet can now drive her buggy into Battle again – but her family has slammed the council for its inaction.

She said that if the pavement had not been cleared it would have taken her independence away. The dangerous road meant she would have had to brave the narrowed pavements with vehicles hurtling towards her at speeds of up to 60mph.

Quentin Carpenter clearing the pavement with a shovel (Image: Quentin Carpenter)

Quentin said: “It took a couple of days, it was a dangerous pavement but I was prepared to make life better for Janet.

“It’s a really dangerous pavement and lots of people were really grateful for us doing it.

“It’s ridiculous that we are having to do it.”

East Sussex Highways is responsible for maintaining pavements including removing weeds and replacing broken or missing slabs.

An East Sussex Highways spokeswoman said the council was unaware of complaints about the area but would re-inspect it.

The council added: “The footpath is inspected every six months, with the last inspection taking place in December and the next due in June.

“We carry out regular inspections of all our pavements for any safety issues and work very hard to ensure the 1,500 miles of footpaths which we are responsible for across the county are maintained to a safe standard."