A WHEELCHAIR user says she is frightened of being thrown out of her chair because of gaps between the cobblestones and uneven surfaces in a town centre.

A WHEELCHAIR user says she is frightened of being thrown out of her chair because of gaps between the cobblestones and uneven surfaces in a town centre.

Pauline Davis had a tumour removed from her brain in September 2002, which left her with blurred vision, and she also sufferers from arthritis and rheumatism.

The mother-of-three now has to rely on her husband Philip to push her into town, but said she has hurt her back on more than one occasion when the wheels of her chair became jammed in the cracks in the pavement.

Mrs Davis, 36, of Aldham Court, Haverhill, said: "I try to walk when I can, but I do have to use a wheelchair for any distance.

"You try pushing a wheelchair on those cobblestones - it is really hard. I don't understand why they put them there in the first place.

"My husband has nearly had me out of my wheelchair on quite a few occasions. The wheel gets jammed in the cracks and I have hurt my back a couple of times where he has grounded the wheelchair."

Her MP Richard Spring has raised the issue on her behalf, and has called for immediate investigations into the condition and design of the town's pavements.

In a letter to the assistant director of Suffolk County Council, Mr Spring said: "I am extremely concerned about this matter and want to stand up for wheelchair users.

"The couple have told me that conditions on Haverhill High Street are totally inadequate, which has been acknowledged by the council but nothing has been done, and it is very difficult for Mrs Davis and other wheelchair users to go out shopping.

A spokesman for Suffolk County Council said it would look at the specific issue of wheelchairs using the town centre.

"A programme of repairs is scheduled for the autumn - but if there is a particular area of concern we are happy to send someone to look at it specifically," he said.