Elderly disabled resident thrown from motorised scooter and injured after hitting broken pavement stone in Morningside

An elderly, disabled man has called on the council to make urgent repairs after he was thrown from his motorised mobility scooter while hitting a broken pavement in Morningside.

Ian Petrie, from Bruntsfield, had been making a normal journey southbound down Morningside Road in mid August when the wheels of his scooter got caught on a broken paving stone.

The 78-year-old was thrown from the scooter dangerously close to moving traffic and ended up injuring both his arm and leg, which were left bleeding.

Ian was left were injuries on his arm and knee after falling from his scooter on Morningside Road. | Supplied

Ian said: “I was on my mobility scooter and I was just going past Waitrose to do some shopping.

“There was one bit of pavement which was so bad that it tipped me over on to the road.”

He added: “I was quite stunned at first. It was really dangerous, I could’ve been killed.”

Ian said he "could have been killed" after falling onto the road on Morningside Road in August. | Iconic Media

He explained that some pedestrians stopped to help him back up, before he continued on to Waitrose, where kind members of staff helped to patch him up.

Mr Petrie said: “I think three people picked me up, and helped me up with the scooter, but they didn't leave their names. And the Waitrose staff helped to bandage me up after I went into the shop.

“I didn’t get anyone’s details so I wasn’t able to say thank you, but I would like to thank the people who stopped and helped.”

Mr Petrie said that the severity of the broken surface is “terrible”, as evidenced by the fact that his scooter, which is specifically designed to not tip over while traveling over uneven surfaces, still fell while travelling on Morningside Road.

He added that he has seen pavements elsewhere in the city in similar condition.

Ian called the cracked and missing paving stones on Morningside Road "dangerous" and has urged the council to undertake urgent repairs. | Supplied

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Mr Petrie said: “I go on the scooter quite a lot and the pavements are shocking everywhere in Edinburgh.

“Morningside Road has been bad for quite some time, maybe a year I'd say. Nothing's been done to improve the pavement and there’s broken stones and even part of a kerb missing.

“I think urgent repairs are needed to make it safe or someone could be seriously injured in the future.”

A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council said: “We always want our roads and pavements to be in the best condition. The paving slabs along Morningside Road are regularly inspected, maintained, and repaired.

“We’d encourage all residents and visitors to report any issues with our roads and pavements on our website.”