AN ELDERLY man died after tripping on a pothole in the road

An inquest heard yesterday how Edward Vincent Brennan, 84, of Manorstead, Skelmanthorpe, fell in freezing temperatures outside his home and broke his hip.

He had surgery in hospital but died after developing pneumonia.

Assistant deputy coroner Dr Dominic Bell called Kirklees Council’s highways chief to the inquest to explain the authority’s policy for road repairs.

In the end, Dr Bell recorded a verdict of accidental death and said no blame could be attached to the council.

The Huddersfield inquest was told that widower Mr Brennan had crossed the road to post a letter after dark and was heading back to a parking bay to check his car.

He stumbled into a pothole and fractured his left hip.

A passer-by raised the alarm and a neighbour, Mrs Margaret Fenby, alerted emergency services and Mr Brennan’s daughter Mrs Karen O’Brien, of Netherton.

The accident happened just before 9pm on February 8 this year, with temperatures down to -6°C.

Mr Brennan had surgery but developed kidney problems. He deteriorated further and died of pneumonia on February 21.

In a statement Mrs Fenby told how a young man walking his dog alerted her to Mr Brennan’s fall.

She found him outside. He told her he had caught his foot in a pothole and had fallen. He was in great pain and had been there five or 10 minutes.

Mrs Fenby said: “He was in shock and kept saying he hoped he didn’t get pneumonia.”

Giving evidence, the council’s head of highways Mr Mark Dobson said the road had been routinely inspected on January 5 and three damaged areas were reported.

All three were repaired on January 24.

Mr Dobson said the inspector reported no other potholes at the time.

He said the council, in common with all other local authorities, carried out regular inspections of all roads and complied with a national policy on good practice.

Trained inspectors carried out a ‘risk assessment’ of each pothole depending on various factors, including location and how busy the road was, and repairs were graded.

Repairs could be completed in two hours, 24 hours, eight weeks or through planned maintenance, which was more than eight weeks.

The public could also report potholes to a free hotline.

Mr Dobson said the pothole in question – which the inquest heard was 360mm long, 160mm wide and 60mm deep – had not been reported.

The first the council knew about it was after Mr Brennan’s death.

Mr Dobson said in the last financial year the council filled in 34,000 potholes of which almost 9,000 were reported by the public.

Mr Dobson said: “Potholes can develop overnight with the freeze-thaw action and the weather conditions at the time.

“Minor scabbing can become deep potholes. When water gets into the road surface it freezes then expands.”

Mr Brennan’s son-in-law Mark O’Brien, 48, said part of the parking bay was in a state of “disrepair” before the accident.

“Was it possible that the inspector missed that part of the lay-by?” he asked.

Mr Dobson replied: “You are asking me to theorise.”

Dr Bell said: “Was there any neglect by any public body? On the basis of the evidence I don’t believe there is any such evidence that neglect contributed to this unfortunate event.”