One neighbor described Beryl Barrett as a 'fantastic lady' (Image: Submitted/Nottingham Post)
Tributes have been paid to a “lovely” 87-year-old grandmother who died after falling into a pothole. Beryl Barrett died in hospital on Christmas Day, almost a week after the fall while crossing a road in the market town of Warsop, near Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire.
The pensioner's family has described her death as “absolutely unnecessary”. In a statement, they said Beryl fell on Church Street when she clipped the wheel of her walking aid and fell backwards. The case was raised at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday by Beryl's local Labor MP Steve Yemm who called for action and for Sir Keir Starmer to meet the family.
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Beryl Barrett fell outside Warsop Town Hall, according to Warsop Parish Council (Image: Google Maps/Nottingham Post)
He said: “Sadly, on Christmas Day, my constituent, Beryl Barrett, passed away after tragically falling into an unrepaired pothole, and I'm sure the whole house will wish to share my condolences with the family.
“In my constituency of Mansfield, there are literally thousands of potholes in our roads, which (Nottinghamshire) County Council are failing to repair.
“Does the Prime Minister agree with me that it's time the council took action to repair our roads, and will he meet with Beryl's family, so that we can work together to ensure that no more accidents like this happen again?”
Sir Keir Starmer expressed his “deepest sympathies” to Beryl Barrett's family during PMQs (Image: PA)
The PM responded: “Can I send my deepest sympathies to Beryl's family.
“I will make sure the roads minister meets the family at the earliest opportunity. It shows why tackling potholes really matters.
“We're investing £2 billion in East Midlands to fix the roads and improve local transport.
“We're also putting in place tough new standards so that councils must prove they're fixing roads properly.”
Beryl's family said the mother-of-three was living independently and enjoyed a “very active life”, regularly attending church, bingo and socialising.
They said after the fall she was helped by members of the public and emergency services.
They added that they were told Beryl had broken her femur and the top of her previous hip replacement, and that she was taken to King's Mill Hospital in nearby Sutton-in-Ashfield.
In a statement, the family said: “It was recommended that she have surgery the following week.
“Sadly and absolutely unnecessarily, she went into respiratory failure and passed away on Christmas Day.
“We believe that, if that accident had not occurred [despite her underlying health issues]she would not have passed away in this way.”
Locals in Warsop have been paying moving tributes to Beryl following her death.
Friend and neighbor Mark Humphreys, 69, described Beryl as an “absolutely lovely lady”.
He said: “It's absolutely terrible, what happened. It's such a shame. I blame the council, 100%. If she hadn't fallen, she'd still be here today. I can't get over it, to be honest.
“When are they going to do something about these holes? The council should be ashamed of itself.”
Ros Jones, another neighbour, said she is “disgusted” by what happened and that the area where Beryl fell is “known for being particularly bad”.
She continued: “'It's scandalous it has got to this stage. And it will happen again unless the council does something about it.
“She was so easy-going. It's a crying shame.”
A third neighbour, 72-year-old Geoff Dale, described Beryl as a “fantastic lady”, who was “very generous and pleasant”.
While a fourth neighbor, who did not give a name, said roads in the area are a “disgrace” and “it was only a matter of time until something like this happened”.
Mr Yemm has set up a petition urging Nottinghamshire County Council to take “urgent and meaningful action to address the unacceptable condition of our local roads”, describing them as being in a “persistent state of disrepair”.
Warsop Parish Council said it held a minute's silence for Beryl at its latest meeting and offered its condolences to her family.
It added: “Warsop Parish Council would like to reiterate that it has no legal powers to fund or carry out road repairs, but we will continue to raise residents' concerns with Nottinghamshire County Council, support discussions regarding potential next steps and advocate for answers and action.
“We will use our voice as a parish council wherever we can to improve safety for our community.”
Councilor Bert Bingham, a Nottinghamshire County Council cabinet member, said his thoughts are with Beryl's family but added “we do not feel that it is appropriate to comment further until any relevant investigations have taken place”.