A DISABLED pensioner who lives in an assisted living home says many residents are “trapped” in the building because of huge potholes in the road outside.

Evelyn Chamberlain has been in a mobility scooter for ten years but says it feels like she’s going to “tip over” when she tries to cross the Bridgewater Street outside Maxton House, Farnworth.

The 71-year-old moved into the building around a year ago and says she has contacted Bolton Council twice and was told on April 9 that the highways department would be making repairs within 20 days.

In response, a council spokesperson asked residents to “just bear with us a little longer” and say they plan to repair the road as part of wider work in the coming weeks.

However, Mrs Chamberlain explained that the problem has left many residents of the home, who have mobility issues, unable to go out on their own.

She said: “It’s ruining my scooter and I can barely get across the road. There’s people who live here who are trapped and won’t come out because they have to try and get over the potholes.

“It’s terrible, you feel like you’re going to tip over and there’s not only me here that has a mobility scooter.”

Responding to complaints about the road, a council spokesman said: “We are planning to undertake wider repairs to this road in coming weeks and we would ask residents to just bear with us for a little bit longer.

“We have investigated complaints from Ms Chamberlain and carried out a number of urgent repairs that were required over the last few months.

“We apologise for any inconvenience that has been caused.”

Mrs Chamberlain has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for most of her life and finds it difficult to get around. She also had a stroke around eight years ago.

She was joined by Amos Bibby and Mary Green, who both use walking frames and said they had to walk a long distance around the road if they wanted to leave the home.

Mr Bibby, who has lived in the home for about four years, added: “Nothings been done about this road in years, since I have been here. I have given up, I can’t get across there.”

Maxton House is managed by Bolton at Home, it includes 38 flats which provide assisted living services for residents.

The home also includes special mobility facilities which cater to residents who have difficulty getting around, including several residents who use scooters or walking apparatus.

The news follows Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi’s statements in Parliament on Wednesday.

The Labour representative criticised the government for a lack of public funding for potholes, saying problems with the road came down to a “lack of cash” especially after authorities complete their legal obligations to “the old, the young and the vulnerable”.

She said: “There’s no money left, so I don’t know where the honourable members expect them to find the money.

“I know there’s a magic tree for the DUP but there’s no magic tree in Bolton for the roads.”

The MP was careful to note that the problems were down to the Government in her view, “not due to a lack of hard work” from Bolton Council.