A 71-year-old pensioner who fractured her ankle after tripping in a pothole at the Slough Crematorium car park says Slough Borough Council denied there was a problem — even though council records show 15 potholes in the same car park were filled days after her injury.
Penny Gibbons said she fell and howled in pain while helping at a funeral in May 2022. She was X-rayed the following day, diagnosed with a broken ankle and fitted with a walking boot. The injury later caused months of sciatica, she said, and left her in pain for about a year.
Gibbons lodged a claim with the council but said she was repeatedly stonewalled for three years. She said emails she received during the dispute included an order placed 10 days after her accident to fill 15 potholes in the car park "after a member of the public fell over and broke their ankle."
Documents provided to Gibbons and seen by reporters show the council’s external claims handler, based in Suffolk, told her that no reports or complaints about the location had been received by the Slough Crematorium in the 12 months of data they reviewed and therefore the claim was denied. The council said the car park was subject to weekly checks.
Gibbons said her solicitors spent two years seeking a response from the council on her behalf before they withdrew, despite having estimated she could expect about £7,500 in compensation. She said she only received a response in February this year after contacting her local MP in Stanwell, her Slough MP, and senior council officials including the leader and the chief executive.
"I had to take matters into my own hands. And now I have a file of documents as thick as my waist," Gibbons said. "It's disgraceful, and I told them all — 'shame on you' in an email. Would they want their own mother or grandmother to go through this?" She said the long delay made her anxious.
A Slough Borough Council spokeswoman said: "We have denied Mrs Gibbons' claim. However we are sorry this case took so long to reach a conclusion and apologise for any inconvenience those delays have caused Mrs Gibbons and her family." The spokeswoman did not provide further detail on the council's assessment of the weekly checks or the repairs order referenced in the emails.
Gibbons said she was frustrated that the council had repaired the car park but denied liability for her injury. She told reporters councils often pay out for vehicle damage caused by potholes but were less likely to compensate people injured by the same defects. She also referenced a government announcement in December that councils would receive £1.6 billion to repair potholes.
The incident and subsequent dispute highlight tensions between local authorities and members of the public over reporting, documenting and responding to defects on council-managed land. Local government guidance and many councils expect claims for personal injury on highway or council land to be acknowledged and investigated within weeks or months; Gibbons said she had been told by advisers that councils should respond within about three months.
Gibbons lives with her daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. She said the injury affected her mobility and sleep, and that the lengthy claims process compounded the physical and emotional impact. The council’s formal denial of liability leaves open the option of further legal steps, but her solicitors had ceased active pursuit of the claim after prolonged attempts to secure a council response.
The council’s statement apologising for the delay did not indicate whether it would reconsider the decision in light of the internal repair order referenced in the documents Gibbons obtained. Local authorities handle compensation claims differently depending on investigations, surveillance of the reported location and records of prior complaints or inspections.
Gibbons said she wanted accountability and a change in how claims by older residents are handled. "I have worked and paid taxes all my life," she said. "Sometimes I had three jobs at once."
Slough Borough Council declined to comment further on the content of internal emails or the timing of the repair order beyond its written response denying the claim and apologising for the delay.