A former nurse who was left with blood pouring from facial injuries after a fall in a busy Teignmouth street says the town’s pavements are dangerous and ‘not fit for purpose’.

“It just shouldn’t be happening in this day and age,” said Jane Melling. “We pay our council tax and part of that should be so we have safe pavements to walk along.”

Her fall happened in Bank Street, where she said a grating covering a drainage channel had come loose. She suffered cuts and bruises to her face and her elbow.

“I’m black and blue,” she said. “I was on my way home after shopping when I stepped on the drain and the metal gave way. I went down straight on my elbow and my face.

“I couldn’t stop myself. My foot was trapped.”

Mrs Melling, who is 69, said people stopped to help, and someone from the nearby Costa coffee shop came out with paper towels to help her mop up the blood.

“Lorries are allowed to go down there to make deliveries, and they are buckling the metal plates. That area is no longer fit for purpose for pedestrians.

“A lot of the paving has come loose and a lot of the drainage covers that should be secured in place are not.

“Something needs to be done about the state of the pavements but Devon County Council just keeps saying there is no money to do it.”

A county council spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to hear of this incident. Bank Street is inspected by a qualified highway safety inspector on a monthly basis, in accordance with our highway safety policy, and any safety defects that are found are repaired.”

Mrs Melling’s fall came amid anger over the state of other pavements elsewhere in Teignmouth. Town councillors, including Mrs Melling’s husband Keith Underhill, have complained to the county council and Wales and West Utilities about cracked, loose or missing paving slabs, paviours and drain covers.

Wales and West provides gas connections, work which is completely separate from the drainage grating in Bank Street where Mrs Melling had her fall.

However, Wales and West has been criticised for leaving parts of The Triangle in an ‘unacceptable’ state.

Cllr Underhill and Cllr Dan Comer visited the site at the same time as a county council highways enforcement officer was inspecting the damage.

Paving slabs were cracked and in some cases raised to leave a trip hazard. Cllr Underhill, who is also chairman of the town’s chamber of trade, said there were also issues over businesses being told about the works schedule.

“Everyone has suffered in some shape or form,” he said.

Cllr Comer said damage in Bank Street and Teign Street had been caused by unsatisfactory repairs and heavy lorries breaking pavements slabs while delivering.

“One trader even put his own safety barriers out to prevent an accident when three drain covers were left out,” said Cllr Comer.

Wales and West utilities programme controller for Teignmouth, Roxanne Whittaker, said:

“We are aware of an issue regarding the completion of reinstatement work carried out by contractors working on our behalf in the Triangle area of Teignmouth. We had previously worked in the area to upgrade the gas network, so that we can continue to keep the gas flowing safely to homes and businesses in the area.

“We are working with Devon County Council to address the issues raised and will agree with them on an appropriate time to carry out any further work that minimises any potential disruption.”

And a county council spokesperson added: “We regularly inspect work that has been carried out on the public highway by utility companies and in this instance a number of issues have been found with recent gas work in the Triangle in Teignmouth. We have held initial discussions with Wales and West Utilities to resolve these issues, and they have agreed to carry out remedial work at a time to be agreed with us.”