An Okehampton resident has asked authorities to secure a footpath in Meldon Fields which she argues is a safety hazard after her father fell badly on a walk.

Lyndsey Burke, who lives on the Meldon Fields estate, questioned the state of the infrastructure in the eastern part of town after her father fell and broke his rib while using the footpath, which skirts around a roadblock at the end of Kellands Lane.

She said: ‘Last week I took a walk with my fit 79-year-old dad. I warned him to be careful but he fell and broke his rib and is now in considerable pain

‘I used to be concerned for families who have to walk through with several children and prams. It is the most direct way and the only other way (other than a mile detour) would take you directly on to the main Crediton Road with no pavement.’

Ms Burke has described the footpath, which consists of a steep narrow mud walkway over the roadblock, as ‘unsafe’, and a ‘hazard’ particularly in icy or very wet weather.

Her father’s fall has left Ms Burke shaken but determined to highlight the dangers of such a makeshift walkway, which passes next to an exposed heavy duty chicken wire frame that covers the roadblock.

She added: ‘I think my dad fell on the metal frame since he said he heard a crack. He is not from around here and I feel awful since I took him that way.

‘Since I have lived here I have been shocked at the lack of attention to making the new areas accessible for pedestrians and bikes. I used to walk that way on my way to work as a teacher at St James School. I understand why it is blocked for cars but there is no access for pedestrians or push bikes.

‘To leave the access point in the state that it is in for local users is appalling especially considering it is a main route for families to get to their local school.

‘I cannot believe that a housing developer has been allowed to sign off a development with a hazard such as this. It really needs to be looked at.’

Another Meldon Fields resident said she had to carry the buggy, often with her children strapped in, over the roadblock if she wanted to pass that way because the path itself was too narrow and steep.

For residents living in the western end of the estate, the Kellands Lane footpath is the quickest way to cross the estate or to reach the primary school, with the alternatives being a mile long detour or a walk along Crediton Road which parents have described as dangerous due to frequent speeding incidents and lack of pavement at some points.

There have already been attempts to increase safety by St James Primary with an ongoing campaign for a zebra crossing on Crediton Road to provide a safe crossing point for children attending the school.

There have also been calls to install speed cameras along the road and requests for the police to carry out speed operations there.

Many Okehampton residents have commented on the lack of infrastructure readily available to those living on the eastern side of town, part of Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council, with all the key facilities including medical centre and supermarkets being located closer to the western side.

This has lead to some tension between Okehampton’s two councils since Okehampton Hamlets residents need to use the facilities provided by Okehampton Town Council instead.

Okehampton Town Council recently submitted a petition to West Devon Borough Council asking for a council boundary review to extend the town council boundaries to to bring the new housing estates on the east of the town since residents there already assume they are under the town council’s remit and should contribute towards the council-funded facilities they use in the town centre including the public toilets, cemetery, Simmons Park, the skate park, BMX track and the new CCTV cameras.