PAVEMENTS in Darwen have been slammed after an 83-year-old grandmother-of-five fell and dislocated her shoulder.

Jean Holmes was pushing her trolley along Market Street when a wheel got caught in a crack in the pavement, sending her crashing to the floor.

Mrs Holmes, of Hindle Court, in Peabody Street, said the incident had made her lose the confidence to go out.

And a former councillor branded the pavement as ‘terrible’.

She said: “I don’t know what happened, really. It all happened so quickly.

“I just remember my hands came off the trolley and I could feel myself going, and I thought, ‘no, don’t fall’.

“Then I went flying through the air and I landed on my shoulder.

“I don’t like stopping in – I was always out and about.

“But this has unnerved me. I can’t go out at the moment.”

The accident happened at 4.30pm last Friday and Mrs Holmes was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Mrs Holmes, a mother-of-two with five grandaughters, said: “A friend was nearby at the time and she came to the hospital and stayed with me until I was discharged at 1.15am.

“It is very sore now and I can’t lift my arm properly.”

Blackburn with Darwen Council executive member for regeneration Dave Harling said: “I will report this to the highways department as soon as possible to get it fixed.”

Mrs Holmes, who worked as a domestic cleaner before her retirement, said: “I hope they do repair the pavement, but it isn’t just there that it is bad.

“There are a lot of pavements in the town that need to be made a lot smoother.”

Former town councillor Martin McCaughran said he was approached by Mrs Holmes after her accident.

He said: “The pavements all over Darwen are terrible.

“This has been reported over and over and nothing has been done.

“I feel so frustrated about it.”