A SCHOOL minibus driver has taken on Essex County Council in a bid to get a dangerous path fixed before "someone gets seriously hurt".
Trevor Norcott, 63, of Mill Lane, Braintree, says the pedestrian path that runs along Braintree Road between the town and Cressing is so bad it is only a matter of time before someone is injured.
"It's like running the gauntlet every time someone wants to get down the road," said Mr Norcott, whose wife fell over on the path on Wednesday, July 23.
"Luckily I was walking with her and could help her up. After that happened I decided to get on to the council and put pressure on them to get something done about it."
The stretch of path that runs along the B1018 is the responsibility of Essex County Council, who only this week announced a £17.5 million programme to fix the 700 worst roads in the county.
Mr Norcott continued: "All along the road there's no path, it's all come away and that's where school kids, pensioners, parents with push chairs cross the road.
"It's very dangerous, it's a very busy road but it just has stones with lots of little pebbles thrown on top of it," added the grandfather-of-five.
Mr Norcott has also contacted Tye Green Parish Council in a bid to get the situation resolved.
"It needs to be fixed, lots of people use it at the weekend when there's no buses, if the council don't do something to sort it out someone is going to get seriously hurt – it's only a matter of time," added the part-time school mini-bus driver.
A spokesman for Essex Highways, the department that is responsible for the path, said: "We have arranged for an inspector to visit the site to assess if any urgent repairs are required.
"We would like to urge residents to report highways defects via the Essex County Council website www.essex.gov.uk or by calling 0845 603 7631 to ensure any issues are brought to the council's attention and assessed as quickly as possible."
