Dangerous cracked pathways in Borehamwood are being left unrepaired while people suffer bone-breaking injuries, it emerged this week.

Helena Southward has a titanium plate and ten screws below her knee after falling on the path outside her Ayot Path home in January.

She broke her ankle and fibula when her foot got caught in a gap along a stretch of road badly cracked up and sunk by subsidence which has been left unrepaired.

The affected area, damaged by hot weather and tree roots, also takes in Walshford Way and Aycliffe Road, which was closed off last September when hazardous cracks appeared.

The mother of six, who has been unable to work since the accident, plans to sue Hertfordshire County Council.

"I had a very active life but am now in constant pain 24 hours a day. My walking will never be the same and I can no longer go swimming or horseriding.

"What I cannot believe is that the gap is still there, the cracks are wider, the path is still uneven and nobody has been here to check it since I am livid," she said.

Council insurers have claimed the highways authority is not legally liable for the accident and that regular inspections take place.

They recently wrote that "no imperfections were observed" during an inspection of the accident spot in November 2003 and claimed "no reports of any previous accidents have been received concerning this location."

Mrs Southward disagrees. "I know other people have fallen and reported it," she said. "Three months before my fall a woman knocked on my door for help after tripping in the same place and fracturing her wrist."

Her solicitors reported the accident to the council who responded with the same letter denying responsibility received by Mrs Southward.

"They are claiming the roads are perfect and everything is fine but everyone round here is looking at their feet all the time and avoiding the pathway because they know it's so dangerous," said Mrs Southward.

"The council is trying to fob people off and they do not want to fix the road because it would cost too much money.

Other Ayot Path residents, including David Wake, have often reported the poor "uneven and broken" condition of the road to the authorities.

A spokesman for Hertfordshire Highways said the road was inspected regularly, at least annually, and that extra tests and repairs had been carried out as necessary.

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