Disabled man 'could have died' falling into roadworks

Broderick Robertson, 86, needed hospital treatment for cuts and bruises after plunging headfirst through a guard rail and into a hole dug in a pavement in Musselburgh on Saturday, July 3.

Emergency services were called to lift the heavy vehicle off the injured man and paramedics took him by ambulance to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

He has been left completely housebound by the accident.

In a similar incident, another pensioner in the town crashed into a gaping hole close to Grandison's Garage in Pinkie Road last Thursday.

Now recovering at home, Mr Robertson said he had been on his way to the local Tesco supermarket when things took an unexpected turn.

"I was letting a woman in another scooter past when I got too close to the hole and fell in and my scooter came with me," he said. "It landed right on top of me, which really hurt my leg. I felt that the ground had collapsed underneath me."

He added that the metal guard rail surrounding the groundwork outside Musselburgh Bus Station was both his nemesis and saviour in the fall.

"I think the rail was too close to the hole which is why I fell in," said Mr Robertson. "I fell with the guard rail and I think it probably saved me from being killed."

However, the pensioner believes he was fortunate only to sustain minor injuries.

"I definitely could have been killed because there was lots of big pipes and beams in there" he said. "I am now house-bound because of it and my leg is very painful. I cannot get about even in the house."

Mr Robertson said he would have preferred the guard rail was fixed and not so near to the hole it was designed to protect.

"There was no signage around it at all. The guard rail is there to stop people failing into the hole but it was very close to it. It was just on the edge. In my opinion it was not really a safeguard at all," he said.

Barr Construction, the company responsible for the roadworks in Musselburgh, could not be reached for comment.

But in response to the soaring numbers of scooters on the streets, East Lothian Council have acted to put the brakes on motorised pensioners with a leaflet warning about safety on the pavements.

"East Lothian Council would appeal to pedestrians and mobility scooter users to take extra care when negotiating works on pavements and roads," said a council spokesperson.

The council said that all roadworks were inspected to make sure the barriers and signs are sufficient.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said that it was down to scooter users to play safe too - and warned they should brush up on the Highway Code.

"We recognise the importance of mobility scooters for older people and those with disabilities," they said.

"We advise scooter users to familiarise themselves with the Highway Code, which now has a whole section on mobility scooters. Good observation is crucial for all road users."

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