The level of road and pavement maintenance in the borough is "unacceptable", according to a Borehamwood councillor.

Ian Feeney raised a motion at a full meeting of Hertsmere Borough Council on Wednesday, asking the authority to recognise the poor state of highways and pavements and called on Hertfordshire County Council to take action.

Last week, 93-year-old Jack Gardner received £8,500 compensation after tripping over a pavement slab in Borehamwood in 2005.

In August last year, shopkeepers called for urgent repairs to walkways after a spate of incidents in which elderly people tripped on paving stones in Shenley Road.

Mr Feeney said: "We all use the roads and pavements in the area that are, at the moment, dotted with potholes and cracks. Everyone has an issue using the paths, including pedestrians and cyclists, but it affects the elderly and children the most.

"The problem is people need to report these faults. I think many may be apathetic and don't complain to the council. How many more cases like this happen that we don't know about?"

The county council is responsible for maintaining pavements and roads, which are checked and surveyed on an annual basis.

Mr Feeney added: "There were long periods where Shenley Road was not maintained properly and we are playing catch-up now to make it better. Even if there is only a 2cm rise in the pavement, a 1cm sole of a shoe can quite easily catch on it and a person can fall. The county council has an obligation to look at the area more than once a year."

Borehamwood Hillside ward councillor Sandra Parnell said: "I have not had any complaints about the state of the pavements in Shenley Road. However, if people do have complaints then they need to get in touch with a councillor and see what they can do about it.

"The residents should get a petition together, send it to the council and we will do something to solve any problems. Residents can contact me at any time."

A county council spokeswoman said: "Hertfordshire Highways has the difficult task of making limited resources stretch as far as possible in maintaining the county's roads.

"Rather than simply fixing the roads that appear to be in the worst condition, we take a much longer-term view and try to prevent reasonably good roads from deteriorating into bad ones. We have to strike the right balance between maintaining good roads and repairing roads which are in a poor condition."

She added that members of the public should report any highway faults to the authority by calling 01438 737320 or online at hertsdirect.org/highwayfaults.

Hear what residents think about the town's pavements at borehamwoodtimes.co.uk/news/ bwoodvideo/