AN ELDERLY man suffered horrific facial injuries after tripping on uneven paving in Redhill town centre.
Eighty-two-year-old pensioner David Keeble, who uses a walking stick to get around, was left battered and bruised after smashing his face on paving in Station Road.
What started as a routine visit to town for the North Street resident ended in an ambulance ride to East Surrey Hospital, where doctors told him the consequences could have been much worse.
He was treated for a broken nose and needed stitches to his forehead.
Mr Keeble told the Mirror the paving had been removed and replaced by tarmac making a ridge in the ground, which caused him to lose his footing.
He said: "I was just walking along, next thing I went flying.
"People helped me up, but there was blood everywhere, coming out of my face.
"You should have seen me.
"It'll take a few weeks to settle down. I have a bit of a headache but that will go away."
As well as a broken nose, Mr Keeble has a nasty bump on his head and dark bruising around his eyes.
He added that doctors told him he was lucky to be alive because he takes the anticoagulant drug, warfarin, which thins the blood.
The retired bus driver has complained to Surrey County Council about the state of the pedestrianised area near the amusements and entrance to Belfry Shopping Centre.
He says the surface has become a trip hazard after workers dug up the paving and patched it with Tarmac. Since then, part of it has sunk and no longer runs evenly with the surrounding paving.
Mr Keeble said: "I want Surrey Highways people to take some notice of it. It could have been an old lady who fell down.
"If it's not tarmaced properly, it's going to cause more falls.
"In my opinion if it was a proper job, I wouldn't have fallen over. I must have caught my foot on the edge and gone flying.
"My friends saw me and said, 'Who have you been fighting?'"
Surrey County Council were unable to comment before the Mirror went to press.
