Determined effort to fix '˜dangerous' paths

County councillor Terry Clark is building up a data base of problem pavements in a bid to force repairs and make them safe.

It comes after numerous accidents in various parts of The Friendliest Port.

Speaking at last Thursday’s Amble Town Council meeting, he said: “I have had reports of people slipping and tripping on footpaths in the town. One particular accident on Leazes Street was very bad.

“There are a number of really dangerous footpaths that are in an appalling condition. The county council’s policy is to repair defects which are at least 20mm in depth on footpaths and 40mm on roads.

“I am putting out an appeal for people to let me know the scale of the problem in the area, so I can build a data base and address the issue of making the footpaths safe.”

Deputy Mayor Craig Weir said that a man had fallen at Philip Drive, while Coun Kate Morrison said that parts of Middleton Street were in a poor state of repair.

Coun Clark was also told that he could use funds from his member’s small scheme allowance to fix footpaths, although fellow county councillor Jeff Watson warned ‘you don’t get much for your money’.

On a separate issue, Coun Clark said he had received complaints about speeding motorists coming in and out of the new Persimmon estate.

He said: “I made inquiries to the county council about possible traffic calming and signage, however, the road is not yet adopted and is still the responsibility of the developer.

“It maybe worth monitoring the speed of vehicles to get a better understanding about the extent of speeding through the estate.”

Coun Helen Lewis suggested asking the police if deployable cameras could be brought in, while Coun Watson encouraged Coun Clark to ‘start the ball rolling about making it a 20mph limit’.