Hip break hell of Jessie (77)

Widower Jessie Tate (77), of Roadside, Cumbernauld Village, was walking home from the town centre when she fell on an uneven pavement near her son Graham Tate's house, also on Roadside, on October 10.

Granddaughter Laura Robertson (19) said: "She had just got off the bus coming back from the town centre and was starting to walk home when she fell.

"All the steps in that area are raised and broken. I have nearly fallen on them myself.

"All our family is in Australia on holiday at the moment so it's been me and my sister who have been helping her."

After the fall Laura and sister Donna (22) were alerted and Jessie was taken to Monklands Hospital in Airdrie with a fractured hip.

Laura said: "She's had to have pins through the bone to strengthen it and doctors have said it was a really bad fall.

"It has been a nightmare, she was already terrified to leave the house because of the uneven pavements and this has just made it worse."

Laura, who lives in Whitelees, said that before her grandfather passed away he was constantly in touch with the council over the state of the pavements, and her uncle Graham had called council officials just three weeks ago to see if something could be done to improve the state of the paths and stairs on the street.

Laura added: "Gran is on her own now. She lives up the top and the steps are really bad.

"She walks with a stick, and is worried it might happen again."

Alex Ramsay, assistant business manager in the roads operations department at the council said: "This area of pavement was inspected and no serious defects were found.

"The pavement is due to be resurfaced over the next few weeks as part of our ongoing maintenance programme."