AN octogenarian who was treated in hospital after falling on a resurfaced West Somerset road is still trying to claim compensation from Somerset Council almost a year after he was injured.

Albert Andrews, who will be 82 in December, fell in Roughmoor, Williton, shortly after council contractors had resurfaced the road.

Mr Andrews, who lives in Long Lakes, Williton, has mobility issues and walks with the aid of a stick, which he said became wedged in a gap between the kerb and the newly-laid tarmac and caused him to trip.

The accident happened in November last year, just weeks after the resurfacing work, but the council dismissed his compensation claim, saying the work had been inspected before his fall and was passed as satisfactory.

Mr Andrews, a retired motorcycle despatch rider from London, was taken by ambulance after his fall to Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, with injuries to his left leg.

He said of the council’s response: “I think it is downright disgusting.

“I was lucky I did not have to have a skin graft. It would not stop bleeding.

“I missed my footing because they had not taken the tarmac up to the kerb and that is what caused me to go over.

“They say it was fixed in October but I strongly disagree. The tarmac was not close to the kerb which was making it unsafe for people with walking sticks or mobility issues.”

Mr Andrews said the cost of laundering his bloodied clothes and having to travel to and from hospital in Taunton for follow-up treatment had left him at least £120 out of pocket.

Now, Mr Andrews plans to write to Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer for help with his case.

He said: “I think he is a good man.”

The Free Press asked Somerset Council for a response but the authority did not make any comment before publication.