AN ABBEYVIEW dad says it took his three-year-old son to be hurt before Fife Council took any action to repair uneven kerbs near his home.

Gary Ward said he had been complaining to the council at the state of the paths outside his Allan Crescent home for more than a year and his fears over safety came true when his three year-old son tripped and cut his chin. 

Fife Council have confirmed that an emergency team went out to repair the path after he rang the Press last week but shop worker Gary, 38, said: "It is upsetting that it has taken my son to be hurt before this situation came to light.

"Our residents' association and the roads department have helped loads since we reported the accident but I still feel my son has been unduly hurt. 

"If the work had been done when I first reported it, this would not have happened. The paths in Abbeyview are getting progressively worse. 

"I'm not the only one that complained either, my neighbour and the community council have also reported the problems with the kerbs.

"There are lots of kids and pensioners who walk up here and it's dangerous."

Gary's home is opposite a row of shops in Abbeyview. When Billy Pollock was the elected representative for the Dunfermline South ward, he began pressing the council on the safety of pedestrians on the street due to parking and broken paths.

Mr Pollock told the Press: "Allan Crescent became a concern for me a few months before I lost my seat in May. There are a lot of issues with parking because of the proximity of the shops, customers park in people's driveways. 

"The state of the kerbs was then highlighted to me also and in my opinion these paths are not up to a suitable standard.

"As far as I know, Fife Housing Group were supposed to be sorting the kerbs out and displaying some signage to stop inappropriate parking. 

"Sadly, this is not the first instance of people tripping on kerbs in Abbeyview and it certainly won't be the last. Fife Council and housing officials need to get together and sort this out. 

"The paths in Abbeyview need quite a bit of work and they need investment."

Ross Riddock, secretary of Abbeyview Residents Association, said: "We walked around the area a few weeks ago with councillors to access the damage that Mr Ward was concerned about.

"We then reported the problems to the council two weeks ago. The council have confirmed that they have sent out an emergency team now."

Councillor Ross Patterson said: "I'm hoping that there will be plans for an upgrade here. I only was elected to the ward in May but I have noticed the state of the paths and I will be writing to the council. 

"If local people have said that they want the paths to be fixed then pockets of community funding should be in place for communities so that money can be put into the issue and they can also respond to problems quickly."

Ian Jones, lead professional for Roads Network Management, said: "We were made aware of the trip hazard yesterday and immediately arranged for a temporary repair to make it safe.

"We’ll continue to monitor that the area is kept safe until permanent works are carried out."