Disabled boy wins pothole review

An 11-year-old disabled boy has advised a council on pavement repairs after he fell down steps in his wheelchair. Brandon Aughton, from Netherfield in Nottinghamshire, was on his way to school when his wheelchair got caught in a pothole and he toppled down steps.

He escaped the fall with just cuts and bruises but wrote to Nottinghamshire County Council to complain. The pothole on Chaworth Road has now been repaired and others will follow in the next few years.

Brandon's carer, Glenys Bowen, said the experience was very frightening. "The biggest problem are the little potholes and the cambers on the pavements because it pushes the wheelchair one way or the other."

Councillor John Clarke was inspired by Brandon's letter, and got in touch to discuss the various problems. "People need to complain and say 'I'm not satisfied with that and get it in the budget. It won't all be done in one year but it can certainly be done of the next few years so we can have a better quality of surface to walk on."

A report from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy said 26% of pavements in the East Midlands presented a hazard.