Birmingham grandmother injured after tripping on dislodged city centre manhole cover

A 70-year-old grandmother has spoken out after sustaining injuries when she tripped over a raised manhole cover in Birmingham city centre. Rosalind Taroni fractured her right knee, suffered two black eyes, and now experiences vertigo following the fall, which occurred as she was making her way towards the tram on Upper Bull Street.

Ms Taroni described the manhole cover as dislodged and elevated, posing a hazard to pedestrians. She recounted the incident, saying, “I went down the curb and then tripped over a manhole cover, which was up. It was raised up – anyone could trip over it.”

The injuries have left her fearful of going out unaccompanied. “I’m frightened to go out. If I go out I have to go out with somebody. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” she added. At the time of the accident on 14 March, she was with a friend and her two children.

Severn Trent Water, the company responsible for the manhole cover housing a fire hydrant, has issued an apology and confirmed that their teams quickly secured the cover upon being alerted. A spokeswoman stated: “We are very sorry to hear about what happened to Ms Taroni, and we hope she is recovering well. Fire hydrants are widely used by others, including the fire service, and other approved users, and there may be circumstances they have not been fully returned to normal. We provide regular training to our own teams and to those approved users on the correct use of hydrants and promptly respond to any reports of concerns about our network.”

Birmingham City Council also expressed regret concerning the incident and emphasised that the fire hydrant cover is the responsibility of Severn Trent Water. Officials confirmed they will urgently pass along details regarding the incident.

Ms Taroni’s experience sheds light on the dangers posed by dislodged infrastructure in public spaces and has raised concerns about public safety in the city centre.