Wheelchair OAP thrown into road

A PENSIONER was catapaulted out of her wheelchair on to a busy road when the wheels became trapped on the uneven pavement.

Evelyn Hamilton, 78, was on her way to an appointment at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion when the accident happened.

And although the Midlothian woman only suffered minor scratches and bruises from the incident, she said she was fortunate not to have been killed.

The council has apologised and vowed to investigate the stretch of pavement concerned.

"If there had been a lorry or a car coming I'd have been right under it," said Mrs Hamilton, who was being taken there by her 50-year-old daughter, Evelyn Balloch.

"I could have broken my neck. Luckily it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I got the fright of my life."

Mrs Balloch was taking her mother for a cataract appointment on July 6 when the accident happened.

They had parked further down Chalmers Street, which is just off Lauriston Place, and were walking up towards the clinic.

But the wheel of the chair caught in a loose piece of concrete, meaning the chair stopped dead and swivelled to the side.

That left Mrs Hamilton thrown on to the road itself, while her daughter - who is also her full-time carer - fell under the weight of the chair, leaving her with an injured back.

Her daughter said: "I couldn't believe what was happening.

"There is lots of work going on at the bottom of the street and there are quite a lot of trucks going up and down.

"If one had been coming it would have hit her, because there would have been no time to stop."

The pair, who live together in Bilston, complained when they arrived at reception about the state of the pavement, but were told it was the city council's responsibility rather than NHS Lothian's, despite it being right outside the clinic.

She added: "It doesn't matter whose responsibility it is, it just has to be fixed.

"It's bad enough to have a surface like this outside a hospital, but it's even worse when you think folk going here have trouble seeing anyway.

"There's supposed to be disabled access, but you're lucky if you even get to the ramp."

A council spokesman said: "We are sorry to hear about this incident and will arrange for an inspection of the pavement to be carried out.

"Any necessary repairs will be completed and we would urge anyone who experiences similar problems with pavements or roads to call Clarence free on 0800 232323."