Jo Konrad at the wonky pavement where she fell

AN elderly woman said it was a miracle she did not suffer more serious injuries after being thrown face first onto the pavement by uneven slabs near Swiss Cottage Station.

Jo Konrad, 78, tripped on a paving slab that was almost two inches out of alignment in College Crescent last week.

Ms Konrad, who has lived in Wedderburn Road for 50 years, said: “Why should people have to avoid wonky paving stones? You get a lot of school traffic around here, young kids, mums and buggies. It’s dangerous for them, for wheelchairs, for everyone. I just think it’s something that Camden should sort out. You only feel like the council won’t do something about a dangerous situation like this unless they are coerced into it.”

When the New Journal recently visited the spot with Ms Konrad, there were more than a dozen uneven paving stones.

“I was walking to meet my granddaughters at the station and I was suddenly splat on my face,” said Ms Konrad, adding: “I don’t want people to simply think I am an old lady as I am very fit.

“The point about it is it’s only because I’m reasonably fit that I didn’t do something awful to myself and a lot of people could. You could break bones.

“Camden has a statutory duty to maintain the local area. It could have been dark and you wouldn’t notice the wonky paving stones. We have to put pressure on Camden. We all pay council tax, to which my question is: why am I paying it if the area looks like this?”

Jo Konrad has submitted a formal complaint

Ms Konrad has submitted a formal complaint to the council but said she was yet to receive a response.

She also raised concerns about stationary vehicles linked to nearby HS2 works with half of the lane of College Crescent leading up to Swiss Cottage Underground station closed off.

“The area is an absolute nightmare in itself,” said Ms Konrad.“It causes traffic chaos. There seems to be an absolute lack of construction work happening here, so why are they stationed here? You have to stand up for your area and this is not right.”

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We received Ms Konrad’s message last week and have since apologised to her and fixed these pavement slabs. There are ongoing works in the area by HS2 – we have reached out to them, asking to manage the site responsibly and make safe any damage caused by their works.”