Calls have been made for the path in a Deal alleyway to be flattened after a little girl tripped and injured her forehead.

Millie Ellis, five, of Davis Avenue, Deal, spent much of the Bank Holiday weekend with a large bruised bump after the fall.

The St Mary’s primary school pupil was walking through the shortcut, which links Queen Street with Park Street, when she tripped.

She was with her mother Sarah, who was carrying her six-month-old sister Rubie, and her brother Charlie, eight, as the family made their way back to the nearby car park.

Mrs Ellis has put it down to the uneven ground and has warned people to be careful when using it, especially those who are unsteady on their feet.

She said: “Millie had the bump for quite a while.

“I was quite shocked that it was just a bump, I expected to see blood and her nose injured.

“Millie was quite distressed by it.

“I think it is because there are trees near the area that it has uplifted the concrete.”

A Mercury reporter visited the site on Tuesday and saw that a number of concrete slabs sit unevenly along the path.

Comments on Facebook suggest that specific slabs are raised with more than an inch difference and that the path has been in this state for some time.

The alleyway itself is not owned by Dover District Council and therefore it is not being maintained by the authority.

The Co-operative, which has a food store in Park Street, has not confirmed it owns the section of path where Millie fell.

A spokesman for the Cooperative did say that the matter was being investigated.

The company has been contacted for further comment.