A 70-YEAR-OLD tourist was the latest victim of Cirencester Market Place’s ‘invisible kerbs’ after she fell face down onto the road.

Julia Lockwood and her husband Malcolm, from Kidderminster, were on their way home from a holiday in Winchester when they decided to stop by Cirencester for a break on Tuesday, March 28.

But their amble around the Cotswold town at noon ended painfully when Julia fell at the junction between Cricklade Street and Market Place.

The 70-year-old, who initially did not notice the height difference between the pavement and the road, fell onto a ground grating and hit her right cheek bone.

Her face was left swollen and bruised, her lips bleeding and her glasses were damaged.

Julia described the moment: “We were right on the corner outside HSBC. There, the pavement goes from being a pavement to a road, but it is only about an inch deep. When you walk towards it, you don’t see that.

“I put my foot on this and because it was so shallow and it wasn’t flat, my foot must have tipped on this inch and I found myself hurtling forward onto a grating.

“My head hurt straight away. I was bleeding from my lip. It was a tiny thing but there was a lot of blood. My eyes were partially closed the day after and my right wrist was swollen and bruised.”

Julia, who underwent a decompression surgery for her back last year, suffered a back spasm the next day as a result of the fall.

She added that she was wearing flat boots at the time and did not have a problem with her feet or balance. Her eyesight was not an issue as she was wearing her glasses.

The incident has not put her off from visiting the town again but she was astonished to learn immediately after her fall that she was not the first person to trip on the kerbs.

Julia explained that there was also a shared space scheme in Kidderminster which she disapproved of: “It’s a ridiculous idea to have unmarked and undefined pavements and roads.

"It’s lovely, very attractive, but it is stupid.”

Earlier this year, a Cirencester Town Council spokesman said the scheme was the result of an “extensive public consultation over several years, including disability access groups”.

He said: “The overall aim of the project is to significantly reduce the volume and speed of traffic in the centre of the town and increase the area of paved surface given over to pedestrians.

“The quality of the paved surfaces are being greatly improved and being laid with care to achieve smooth, even surfaces without trip hazards.

“Extensive use of corduroy and blister paving is being incorporated as well as low-profile kerbs to assist visually impaired pedestrians to move around the centre of the town.”