Rusty drain cover collapses and a woman falls into a hole while walking her dog in Whittlesey

Susan Harrison fell into a drain at Whittlesey when the rusty cover collapsed under her feet (Image: Archant)

Susan Harrison, who runs Chippy Sue’s in Whittlesey, said: “The hole was as deep as my knees. To fall in was not only a shock but I’m in pain and ache all over.

“The rusty cover had sharp bits sticking out which grazed my legs.

“If a child had fallen in they would have been badly cut. I dread to think of the damage if an elderly frail person had fallen in.”

Mrs Harrison was walking her dog at about 9.15 am on Wednesday (7) when the drain cover, which was covered in mud, collapsed and she fell on the corner of Arnold’s Lane and Delph Street.

Anglian Water attended but told Mrs Harrison they could not make it safe as they did not own the drain but alerted Cambridgeshire Highways who listed it as an emergency and promised to fix it with a new cover by the end of the day.

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesman said the matter was raised as an emergency.

He said: “We are investigating who is responsible for the drain.

“We were made aware of the issue and immediately arranged for a highways inspector to visit and made it safe as well as coning it off.

“We should have the manhole cover replaced with a new one by 6pm.”