Two men who live near Great Western Park near the Railway Village have great concerns about whether it is in a fit state to host major events.

One, Andrew Beeton, who uses a wheelchair, says he was tipped out of his chair by a hole in the grounded, and would have been stranded on the floor if not for the help of passers-by.

The Bangladeshi Association of Swindon will be hosting its first outdoor mela in the park on Saturday to celebrate the Bengali new year - it has a licence for another three events this year - and the park also recently hosted the rally at the end of the Honda march.

Hugh Green, who lives nearby objected at the licensing panel meeting which granted the permission on a number of grounds. One of which was public safety - his concerns are the state of the ground in the park, also known as Faringdon Road Park.

Mr Green said: “There are deep potholes all over the park and there is a manhole cover which is broken, with a deep hole in it. I think it’s a risk to public safety - it’s not guarded or cordoned off, there’s nothing to tell people about it.

It was that hole in the manhole cover which saw Mr Beeton, who is a double amputee, tipped from his wheelchair, while exercising his two-year old long-legged American bulldog, Duster.

He said: “I was walking Duster and throwing a ball for him and he didn’t pick it up. I leant over to pick it up for him and suddenly the wheel at the front of the chair went in the hole and I was out.

“There were a couple of lads at the bus stop - I didn’t get their names - and they came running over and helped me back in my chair. If they hadn’t I wouldn’t have been able to get back up. I would have been left lying on the ground.

“I was really shaken up by it

Mr Beeton, 54, said he was going to complain to Swindon Borough Council: “I didn’t even know there were manholes in the park - there’s nothing to tell you. And this one was all covered in grass so I didn’t even see it. There was a really big hole either in it or next to it, I’m not sure.”

When Mr Green was at the licensing panel meeting he was told he could ask for the borough council's risk assessment for the event but says he hasn't received it yet.

Swindon Borough Council was unable to respond at time of going to print.