A SUPERMARKET has taken action after another person fell and injured themselves on its in-store travelator.

Elaine Whitham was left bleeding and bruised after landing heavily on the travelator inside the Waitrose store in Basing View.

The 52-year-old from Overton said: “It was a wet day.

“On reaching the lower travelator my feet disappeared from under me and I landed heavily on my lower back/bottom.

“I got up and felt a bit shaken but was able to continue to do some shopping as planned.

“After a while I realised my left hand was bleeding as was my right elbow, which was showing a large bruise.

“My back was starting to feel uncomfortable.”

Mrs Whitham wrote to Waitrose with concerns about the safety of the travelators, branding them as “very dangerous” and received a £20 voucher.

But she is still concerned for the safety of others, and said: “The grain of the metal points downwards offering no resistance or natural ‘brake’.

“Bear in mind that whilst I clearly had wet feet, I was wearing sports footwear which provides more traction than most shoes.

“I had started by holding the rail but had taken my hand off for only a moment when I fell. The combination of water on metal is a lethal one.

“I am a very fit 52-year-old, had I been elderly I would have potentially sustained a fracture or more serious injury.”

She added: “Whilst I might have been inconvenienced in that I have cuts and bruises and had to have some treatment on my back, I am more concerned that they are investigating what is clearly an issue with the pitch of their travelators.”

Mrs Whitham is not the first person to have been injured on the Waitrose travelators.

As previously reported in The Gazette, Rooksdown borough councillor Simon Bound witnessed an accident in the store in August when a woman fell over on one of the travelators and reportedly broke her wrist.

Read the full story here.

He also heard that a boy broke his collarbone in the same week after falling on the same travelator.

Cllr Bound contacted Waitrose with concerns about the safety of the travelators, and said at the time: “It is important that Waitrose reassures us all that this major entrance to their store is safe.”

A spokesman for Waitrose told The Gazette at the time that customers could wipe their feet on large mats before using the travelators, or use one of the four lifts.

However, the store has since taken action to help prevent any further falls, and is now planning to build a foyer to combat the problem.

A spokesman said: “We hope the customer is feeling much better.

“Safety is paramount and in addition to those measures we already have in place, we have added an anti-slip coating to the cover plate as shoppers get on the travelator and will be building a foyer at the entrance from the car park to further reduce water being walked in when it rains.”

Cllr Bound, cabinet member for communities and community safety, said he believes that the anti-slip substance has only been applied to the top travelator.

He has a meeting with the store manager to discuss what action is planned for the future to improve the safety.

The £7 million store opened its doors on November 12 last year as part of a combined Waitrose and John Lewis at home shop.