Torpoint dad with cancer suffers nightmare fall on dodgy road

Sarah Smith and her dad Alf Rosevear.
-Credit: (Image: Sarah Smith)


An elderly man has been left with severe injuries after he tripped and fell on an unstable pavement in Cornwall. Alf Rosevear spent two days in hospital after doctors discovered he had four broken ribs and had a bleed on a lung.

The 89-year-old was walking back home with bags of shopping along Sydney Road in Torpoint on Saturday, September 21, when he tripped and fell on a cracked and unstable pavement. His daughter, Sarah Smith said he was lucky not to hit his head as he fell but said her dad was left with cuts and bruises all over his hands and legs.

“Luckily he landed on his shopping, which was cream and bread, because if he hadn't landed on that, he could have hit his head,” she told CornwallLive. “He cut both hands, grazed both knees and is covered in bruises.”

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Sarah said she had insisted her dad went to the hospital to get himself checked out after the fall but Mr Rosevear said he was fine. However, on Friday (September 27), she took him to see a doctor after he complained of more and more pain in his ribs as the days went on.

Mr Rosevear was then sent for an x-ray, which found that he had broken four ribs and had a bleed on his lung. As a result, he was admitted into hospital for two days over the weekend and has now missed a £6,000 family holiday.

“My dad really hurt himself,” she said. “He has myeloma, which is blood cancer, so his bones break easily. [At the time] he insisted he was fine so even though I wanted him to go to the hospital, I couldn’t force him to but as the days went on, his chest was hurting more and more around his ribs.

“He couldn’t come on holiday with us as if he did, because of the broken ribs and the bleed on his lung, he would have died. So, I’m so glad I insisted he went to the doctors before we flew or we would never have had the x-ray and known what he did . He spent two days in hospital, bless him, and has been sent home with strong painkillers and a machine to help him breathe properly so his lung doesn’t deflate.”

Alf Rosevear tripped and fell on an unstable pavement in Torpoint
Alf Rosevear tripped and fell on an unstable pavement in Torpoint -Credit:Sarah Smith

Sarah has been left “furious” as she said there have been campaigns to fix the state of the road and pavement for many years and now someone has been seriously hurt because of it. “As far as I know, it’s been years and years of people complaining and campaigning about the state of the roads and nothing has been done to fix it,” she said.

“I’m furious, I’m absolutely livid. The council say they have no responsibility as it’s not their pavement, yet one side of the road is full of council properties and bungalows where old people live.”

Cornwall Council ’s contractor, Corserv, which is responsible for highways management said the road is not a publicly maintained highway, so the maintenance and upkeep of the road is the responsibility of homeowners in the area.

Alf Rosevear fell on his shopping of cream and bread while walking along an unstable pavement
Alf Rosevear fell on his shopping of cream and bread while walking along an unstable pavement -Credit:Sarah Smith

Mr Rosevear told CornwallLive on Friday before his scan that the pavements are unstable and there’s potholes all along Sydney Road. He also said he is annoyed by the state of the road but said he managed to get himself up and walk home after his fall.

“It’s the same all the way down the road,” he said. “There have been people going up and down there with wheelchairs and mobility scooters and I know of another lady who was on her electric scooter who fell off the pavement too. After my fall, I got up and brushed myself down and carried on but I did feel annoyed by it.”

A spokesperson for Corserv said: “We are very sorry to hear about the recent incident and we sincerely hope for the swift recovery of the elderly gentleman. Sydney Road in Torpoint is not a publicly maintained highway.

“This means that Cornwall Council is not responsible for the upkeep or repair of the road surface. When purchasing properties in the area, homeowners should be advised of their responsibilities towards the maintenance and upkeep of the road as part of the conveyancing process.”

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