A group of churchgoers are campaigning for trip hazards in Tavistock to be repaired after several members have fallen and hurt themselves.

Members of Tavistock United Reformed Church have approached councillor and local councils asking for the granite slabs and drainage gulleys to be made safer.

Suzy West, a church elder, said: “After the issue was raised at our church gatherings it became clear this was a more widespread issue than we thought.

“An increasing number of our congregation have suffered injuries following a fall caused by the uneven pavements in Tavistock. This has sometimes deterred some of them from coming into town which can be isolating and is wrong. People come into Tavistock for many reasons, some are practical and some are social. We hope this barrier will be sorted out.

“We have expressed our concern about this to our local councillor and the councils. But it doesn’t seem to be a priority and we have been told the problems don’t meet the criteria by which they measure whether repair work should be carried out.”

She said the congregation recognised the importance of keeping the town’s historical features: “But we strongly feel that this should not be at the expense of the safety and well-being of residents and visitors.

“We want something is done to make the pavements safer to walk on or for mobility scooters to travel on.”

Suzy, whose dad was tipped out of a mobility scooter, is asking for reassurance this will at least be discussed in the relevant committees and action taken “to make visiting the town for those who have reduced mobility a pleasure, rather than a worry or even a prohibitive reason not to visit”.

She praised the resurfacing of Bedford Square as an example of safe good practice.

David Jowett tripped on uneven paving stones on Abbey Bridge, badly bruising his face, while his wife tripped on Market Street: “There are too many raised ledges or joins between the granite stones for safety.”

Bob Stride, a church elder, was tipped out of his wheelchair when a wheel stuck in a gulley: “People with mobility problems are sometimes frightened about coming into town. The appearance of the town should not be a priority at the expense of people’s safety.

“Tavistock has many older people with sticks and in wheelchairs who find it hard to get around safely.”

The campaigners have been told that, as a rough guide, a 20p piece on edge needs to show above any possible trip hazard ledge to meet the repair criteria.

A Devon County Council spokesperson said: "Footpaths in and around Tavistock are made up of granite slabs which by the very nature of these historic materials are uneven."Abbey Bridge, West Street and Church Lane onto Plymouth Road, have all undergone a formal safety inspection in the last 30 days with no safety defects found in line with our policy.

"Market Street was last inspected on March 12 with one safety defect raised by the inspector which is with our contractor for repair."