A pensioner who injured himself after stumbling on broken paving slabs has criticised KCC for taking almost four months to sort a temporary repair.

Robin Brooks is 83 and a well known air historian and writer, and supporter of the Royal British Legion.

He took a tumble on Friday, May 27, at Longshaw Road, in Park Wood, after parking to make a visit to the Fusion Centre for an eye test.

He cut his arm and banged his head, though he admits neither injury was too serious, he said: "It's taken KCC all that time to make the pavement safe. It was a hazard, right in the middle of a busy shopping area.

"Other people might easily have tripped and been far worse hurt than I was. This should have been repaired instantly."

Although his injuries were not severe, Mr Brooks, of Langdale Rise, Maidstone, did damage the jacket and trousers he was wearing in the fall.

After reporting the dangerous state of the paving slabs to KCC Highways, he also made a claim for compensation.

But after a lengthy wait, almost as long as it took to repair the pavement, his claim has been rejected by KCC's insurers, who said the council carried out a routine inspections of the paving stones twice a year, with the last visit being in April, when they had been in an acceptable condition.

Since then, no-one had reported any damage prior to Mr Brooks' fall, so the council argued, it was not liable.

Mr Brooks is sceptical. He said: "I have been back there several times and spoken to local people who say the slabs had been broken for ages."

He said: "This was an accident waiting to happen, and I feel some recompense is due."

Mr Brooks has written to KCC leader Sir Roger Gough to complain about the 'disdain' with which he feels he has been treated. His letter sent on August 6 has elicited no response.

Last week, the broken slabs were removed and the hole filled with Tarmac in a temporary repair.

A KCC spokesman said: "We do not comment on the decisions of individual claims, however, we are satisfied that KCC complied with its statutory duty on this occasion.

“Officers conduct regular safety inspections of our roads and pavements every year to ensure that any faults are highlighted and corrected.

"Residents can report faults themselves by visiting www.kent.gov.uk/highways.

“The defect has now been fixed.”