Dark steps 'are a trip hazard' (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Dark steps 'are a trip hazard'

12:00pm Saturday 16th February 2013 in Andover

A WOMAN has spoken of her fears about her elderly neighbour’s safety after she fell because the street lights are not working.

Venice Court resident Rachel McGuire was walking back to her house after visiting her parents-in-law when she fell down some steps.

A light in the stairwell has not been working for five weeks.

After visiting her relatives Rachel had to find her way down the stairs in the darkness.

“The steps were closer to me than I thought in the dark. When it’s dark it’s hard to judge the depth of the steps.

“I’m not old, I’m only 37, but you fall down those steps it hurts.

“I hurt my foot but nothing major. But there’s a lot of old people living here who could seriously injure themselves,” said the mumof- three.

Housing association Aster Communities has apologised for the delays to repair the light.

An Aster Communities spokesman said: “We’re working with customers living at Venice Court to address some problems they’ve been experiencing with communal lighting in a stairwell area.

“Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we’re always sorry to hear about any of them experiencing problems.

“The length of time this repair has taken to complete is clearly unacceptable and we’d like to apologise for this.

“We’re working closely with our specialist lighting contractor to find out what has caused this delay.

“We’ll do everything we can to ensure the necessary repairs are completed as a matter of urgency.

“We’d like to say sorry again to our customers for the inconvenience this has caused.”