ANY ratepayer can go on about the dangers of driving in to a pothole. But while hundreds of South African’s can attest to car damage, few can say that their leg and not their tyre was damaged in a pothole. Unfortunately this was the case for Parkhill resident, Anabela Aliphon who fractured her fifth metatarsal after stepping in to a pothole next to her car.

She is now in crutches and in a moonboot for eight weeks. She was walking back to her car on Swapo Road (Broadway) and had attempted to open her car door when she fell over in excruciating pain after severely twisting her ankle.

“The pothole is in one of the parking spaces just outside the Fego coffee shop. Fatefully I had parked next to the pothole and hadn’t seen it.
“When I tried to open my car door coming back from the shops, all I remember was falling and writhing on the floor in agony.

“I couldn’t move so I phoned my husband and brother-in-law who drove me home. They kept saying it was a bad sprain and I shouldn’t be such a drama queen. I had my foot in an ice bucket which didn’t help. Each day the pain got worse and worse and my foot had begun turning a purplish hue,” she said.

An X-ray taken four days later revealed that Aliphon had a fracture of the peroneuns brevis tendon. She cogently summed up her injuries saying it was as if someone had dropped a five litre paint can on her foot and was constantly pushing down on it.

“The injuries have meant I’ve missed a week of work and my children have missed a week of school. I’d just like to warn other people to be wary of the pothole,” she said.

Though she has filled in claim forms from the municipality, Aliphon has been told she needs to find two witnesses to claim any compensation.

“In fairness, the two who witnessed the accident were the feather duster man and the car guard,” she said.