At last! After a mere 206 days, the Evening News gets it sorted

The crack in the pavement at Almond Green has been on our shame list for 206 days, since March 1, eclipsing the previous record by 39 days.

Today though, there may finally have been a breakthrough.

Having originally admitted culpability for the defect, the city council recently made an U-turn and claimed it was in fact private land and not their problem, risking the saga dragging on.

Now, the local authority has vowed to work together with private landowners to "ensure the work is carried out".

Local resident Alice Noble claimed she flagged up the crack more than five years ago but was told there was insufficient cash in the budget to fix the problem.

"It doesn't look like anything (serious] in the paper but it's subsidence that caused the crack and there is a real dip there," said Mrs Noble. "I have been here for 15 years and it's always been there but it's a lot worse now.

"I've been complaining for five years which was why I asked the Evening News to look into it. I was phoning (the council] every few months and they had people looking at it but they always said they didn't have any money.

"This year has been worse because of the bad winter, but they could have managed to do something about itl"

Daughter Sarah Noble, 45, said: "(My mother] is nearly 90 and as you can imagine the fear of falling is quite a big thing to her and not helped by having this terribly uneven spot right beside her front door.

"There is a real dip in the tarmac and it is dangerous for anyone, particularly the elderly. Things can only get worse with darker nights and colder weather.

"It would be great to get something done about the crack which, when you see it, is more like a small crater."

A city council spokesman said: "This section of the pavement is privately owned but the council, as part of its programme of improvements in the local area will work with local owners of the land to ensure this work is carried out. The council appreciates that this may have a financial impact on the owners and therefore will continue to make contact locally in order to agree how this is taken forward."

The East Craigs pavement defect is being removed from the Get It Sorted panel, but the Evening News will continue to monitor the progress of its repair.