PENSIONERS who have been living with roadworks on their doorstep for more than a year are angry after one of them fell and suffered facial injuries while negotiating the site.

Shirley Haynes, 75, had only recently come out of hospital following an operation and was returning home from one of her first outings on Thursday afternoon when she tripped over the foot of one of the barriers on the narrow pathway.

She broke her nose and gashed her finger badly in the fall yards from her council bungalow off Ermin Street.

Her daughter Michelle said: “It was like you had to be a tightrope walker to walk down that narrow little bit of pavement with the high kerb.”

She and her mother’s neighbours had been pushing for the work to be finished. “This has been going on for 14 to 15 months,” she said.

The roadworks are on a layby that was used by elderly residents of the bungalows. But as part of a development next door by Newland Homes, it has been closed and is being turned into parking for residents.

Mrs Haynes had parked further up the road and had to walk past the site to reach home. She fell heavily and it was a few minutes before she overcame the initial shock.

She waved her arm to attract attention and eventually a woman walking her dogs on the other side of the road spotted her and went to her aid.

Others followed, including a lorry driver who stopped, got a blanket from his cab and called the ambulance. A community nurse who had been passing also stopped and treated her bashed and bloody face.

Mrs Haynes was in the road nearly an hour, waiting for an ambulance when the decision was made to move her carefully into the warmth of her home.

Michelle, who had been alerted with a phone call said: “As I pulled up on the main road they were all helping my mum in. She turned round and her face was covered in blood.”

As far back as November 2016 residents were attempting to find out what was happening with the work and in January last year they were told by Newland Homes that it expected the job to be finished in six weeks.

Mrs Haynes is recovering but a planned Mother’s Day outing with her family had to be postponed. “We were going out for a nice meal. In the end it wasn’t much of a Mother’s day for any of us, least of all Mum.”

Newland Homes contracts manager Ian Hughes said: “We were very concerned to hear that Mrs Haynes had tripped over a safety barrier and have spoken to the contractors responsible for undertaking the works on Ermin Street on our behalf.”

He explained the delay was caused by un-plotted cables and services, some of which were at a dangerously shallow level. The firm had to apply to utility firms for them to be moved before they could continue safely.

“Swindon Borough Council’s highways department has been regularly inspecting the works, as well as the pedestrian and road areas that it is impacting and although they have raised no concerns we were very sorry to hear about Mrs Haynes’ fall. We are pleased to confirm that the final stage of work is now underway.”

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “First of all, we would like to wish our tenant a quick recovery. One of our housing officers has been out to visit her today to offer as much help as she needs.

“We have done everything we can to speed up the progress of these works but, unfortunately, they have been held up as an electricity cable needed to be lowered underneath the footpath and this has extended the work programme significantly.”