Locals warn of ‘death-trap’ York stone after woman suffers injuries

This young woman slipped and broke one of her front teeth

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Local residents are warning people to be extremely careful after a woman was injured whilst walking along the York stone in Middleton centre during Thursday morning (1 February).

The stone covering Long Street has been branded as “a death-trap” and “an ice-rink” after the woman slipped and fell on the icy flags, resulting in her losing half of her front tooth.

Lewis Williams, who was first on the scene of the accident, said: “How many times and how many falls will it take for Rochdale Council to listen? I am a young man who loses his footing on this paving in the rain. In my opinion, the lack of logic with this council astounds me, and it is about aesthetic over functionality.”

“This beautiful young lady has now got half a front tooth and lost a lot of blood. She now has to live with that or pay out to get one fitted. She was in a lot of pain and was so upset.”

Jack Howard, from the Old Boar’s Head, commented: “People need to be extremely careful on the death-trap pavement going up Long Street. The young lady who fell was being seen to by paramedics. I was walking up onto Sadler Street and got stuck. I am only 31 with proper walking shoes on and I had to slide back down.

“Anyone, especially the elderly, please avoid at all costs. The mould on the pavement along with the cold does not go well with its shiny surface and is making patches slippier than ice.”

Another resident, Lee Wolf, also fell on Long Street in December. He said: “The stone in this weather is like an ice-rink. I reported the fall to the council and they told me the stone is treated below a certain temperature. In my opinion, whatever they are doing is not working, or they are not doing it because the stone is still so slippy.”

Mark Widdup, Director of Neighbourhoods at Rochdale Borough Council said: “Pedestrian areas are not treated for normal overnight frosty conditions and we advise everyone to take extreme caution when walking on potentially icy surfaces.

“They will only be treated if the temperature has been below freezing for over 24 hours and if snow or ice is expected to remain for 24 hours. Pedestrian areas are treated on a priority basis and subject to available resources within the council.”