Death fears as Hereford's icy pavement are not gritted

Disability rights campaigner and blogger Cameron Wood, who lives with Cerebral Palsy, said he was almost hit by a car last week due to untreated pavements.

His wheelchair skidded on ice and he almost ended up in the path of an oncoming vehicle, and has now said he won't be going out when it next freezes.

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"If the vehicle in question hadn’t seen me then I believe that the outcome could have been completely different," Mr Wood, who lives in Hereford, said.

He has since reiterated his call to include gritting the pavement network in Herefordshire Council's winter operations plan, writing to cabinet member for transport and infrastructure John Harrington.

Cameron Wood now won't go out in Hereford when it next freezes

When Mr Wood first urged the council to do this in January 2019, he was told that it wasn’t possible to grit cycle and foot ways, but has been left angry after the near miss earlier this month (January).

"I believe that the disabled community in Herefordshire are being discriminated against by Herefordshire Council if it continually refuses to grit our pavement network at times when the temperatures are in minus figures," he said.

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"I have offered to meet with Councillor John Harrington, cabinet member for transport and infrastructure, and his team to discuss the way forward with regards to this issue.

"I fear that the local authority here in Herefordshire will only act when someone gets hurt or even worse killed as a result of the pavements not being treated with grit."

But Mr Wood said he was concerned that his email and letter to Coun Harrington would be "deleted and forgotten about", something he said wouldn't be fair on the community.

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"I won’t be going out the next time we have a cold weather incident because I fear for the safety of myself and that of others due to the lack of grit on our pavements," he said.

"If I had to give a message to councillor John Harrington then it would be this, please listen to me and my concerns as I only have the best interests of Herefordshire’s most vulnerable residents at heart.

"I also believe that many of Herefordshire’s most vulnerable residents would struggle to speak about issues like this one hence the reason I’m acting as their voice so that they are heard."

Herefordshire Council has been approached for comment.

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