Family visit turns into all-night stint in A&E after Royston High Street fall

Sally Balcombe was visiting from near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk and the pair, along with Judith’s partner Mark, were off to get a Chinese takeaway just before 11pm when Sally tripped on a protruding paving stone just outside Store Twenty One.

Judith said: “It all happened in slow motion.

“She was in the air, spread-eagled, then landed face first on the ground, severely damaging her shoulder in the process. I was in front of her. It was awful.

“We said to her ‘are you OK?’.

“As she started to move, she passed out for a few minutes.

“We got her into the recovery position and it all happened so quickly.

“There was a man walking his dog who lives behind Howes and he gave her a blanket - the floor was so damp as it had been raining.

“She was in so much pain. Her blood pressure was so low she could only take paracetamol.”

The ambulance arrived and took Sally to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge with a dislocated and fractured shoulder – she only received painkillers at 2am, and stayed in the hospital until about 6am.

Judith added: “She can’t go to work and drive, her arm is in a sling. Her husband has to do everything for her.

“I’ve got a mother who is 82, and for an elderly person to fall, it could end up being pretty serious.”

The state of Royston High Street is a contentious issue in the town, due to the high number of incidents reported.

Exactly a week after Sally’s fall, a woman in her 80s was taken to hospital with a hip injury after falling outside the same shop.

Last month the Crow also interviewed Janet Heasell, who was left with three broken teeth, a broken kneecap, back pain and bruises on her arms and legs after a fall in the High Street.

Judith said: “When they finally get it resurfaced, it will be like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.”

Highways officers say the road will be tarmacked within the next financial year.