A 64-year-old woman says she is shocked that the pothole that shattered her ankle has not been marked as a hazard.

Holidaymaker Carolyn McGivern and husband Terry, 73, were in Dartmouth on Saturday, August 7, when disaster struck.

At around 2pm the couple were leaving the Smith Street Deli when Carolyn tripped on a “lethal” pothole while crossing the road.

Carolyn said she was “sick with pain” and knew straight away that her injury was serious.

Onlookers rushed over to help.

The couple dashed home to Sevenoaks in Kent, stopping for frozen peas and painkillers on the way, before arriving at their local hospital five hours later at around 8pm.

As it was closing time, they were advised to travel further to Tunbridge Wells A&E the following day.

Medical staff informed her that she had broken her ankle.

Six weeks later, Carolyn is still wearing a controlled ankle-motion walking boot to protect her the joint while it recovers.

She rang the Devon Air Ambulance Trust shop on Monday, September 16, to see whether the spot had been marked by the council – only to find that it had not.

Kim-Marie Veasey, who works in the shop near the pothole, said that “quite a few” people have slipped on the potholes on the street, including one of the shop’s volunteers.

“It’s an area that’s fairly risky, on a slope with dips in the road,” she said. “You can lose your footing – it’s hazardous.”

Kim-Marie witnessed Carolyn’s fall and said she was “in a bad way”. She gave her a blanket and a glass of water.

Carolyn said she was “flabbergasted” to discover that Devon County Council was already aware of the potholes on Smith Street.

She pleaded with Devon Highways: “Please do something about this hole as soon as possible or someone could break a hip or worse.”

A county council spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to hear about Mrs McGivern’s accident and we wish her a speedy recovery. Smith Street has already been earmarked for maintenance work as part of on an ongoing programme, but we’ll be inspecting the site to see if any emergency repairs are needed.”