Disabled pensioner 'trapped' by 'dangerous' pavement near his home

Hugh Small is calling on Enfield Council to fix the pavements as well as tackle speeding vehicles in Hadley Road

Hugh Small on his mobility scooter in Hadley Road — Hugh Small says he cannot travel more than a few metres from his home in Hadley Road

An elderly disabled man from Enfield claims he is “trapped” because the pavements around his home are impassable on his mobility scooter.

Hugh Small, an 83-year-old amateur historian who lives at the Ridgeway end of Hadley Road, recently had his driving licence revoked because of his deteriorating health, forcing him to use a mobility scooter to get around.

But Hugh says that the pavements are unsafe for him to use, with one vehicle crossover having such a steep slope that his scooter would be at risk of tipping over into the road were he to try passing over it.

The road itself is also highly dangerous, with cars sometimes recorded speeding at up to 100mph despite the 30mph limit. One driver was even killed on Hadley Road earlier this year, although it’s not yet known if speeding was a factor in the crash.

Hugh, who lives alone, told the Dispatch: “It is very dangerous, I don’t dare to cross it [the vehicle crossover] on my own.

“I am pretty much trapped in my home. It is impassable because it is steep and overgrown.”

As well as fixing the vehicle crossover, Hugh has been calling on the council to improve road safety in Hadley Road for years.

“This road is lethal – it is supposed to be 30mph but no-one knows it. It looks like a country road. One resident up here has filmed people doing 100mph.

“They need to bring in double white lines to stop overtaking, and dragon’s teeth. Road markings are the simplest and cheapest thing to do.”

Hugh has lived in Hadley Road for ten years but was only recently told he could no longer drive. His conditions include arthritis, which means he struggles to walk more than a few steps, while he also previously had a stroke.

The octogenarian runs his own YouTube channel covering local history but Hugh’s recent difficulties have severely restricted what he can do and where he can go.

“I have to get a taxi to go anywhere,” he added.

Hugh recently received an update from a local councillor who told him he would arrange for an engineer to investigate solutions to the unsafe pavement near his home. However, the council has not yet responded to a request for comment from the Dispatch.

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