Alison Smith suffered shocking facial injuries after she tripped on a deep pothole and fell face first to the ground – over a year on she is still unable to work due to the injuries
A mum has been left with life-changing injuries after she tripped on a deep pothole and fell face first to the ground – losing seven teeth.
Alison Smith suffered shocking facial injuries after she took a painful tumble while walking to meet her daughter in Bonchurch, on the Isle of Wight. The 48-year-old says there was no pavement so she was walking in the road when her foot got caught in a pothole and sent her flying.
Despite trying to break the fall with her hand, the mum-of-four says her face landed in another pothole during the accident in November 2024. Over a year later, Alison still can’t use her hand, has fake teeth, and is unable to work due to the injuries.
Alison, of Vetnor, Isle of Wight, says nobody has ever taken responsibility for what happened despite her “life changing forever.” She added: “My foot got caught in the pothole and I fell forward using my hand to try and save me.
“My face went into another pothole which is why I lost so many teeth. It was horrendous. I was on the floor with blood everywhere trying to pick up my teeth. My daughter walked round because she heard me crying. I was just very shook up and slightly dizzy. I was very upset. It was sore for a good few weeks.”
The morning after the fall she visited A&E fearing that she might have fractured her cheek because she was unable to move her face, and had X-rays on her wrist. Luckily, nothing was broken, but the gran-of-five was in agony for weeks and is still unable to use her hand.
She has since been having physiotherapy for the injuries but is unable to lift anything, meaning she had to leave her café job. She also had to stop her charitable work, which saw her raise £400,000 for a food box initiative, due to her injuries.
The part-time singer now has false teeth on the top and bottom of her mouth, and has had to stop singing with the two bands she was in. She added: “It is now over a year later and it is still causing me to not be able to do the things that I used to do. It impacted everything really. I am still now signed off sick because of the stress of everything.
“I still can’t eat the things I used to eat. I had to relearn how to sing with these fake teeth. It did shake me up. It changed my confidence for a while. I did have to spend time going out in public and carrying on with my life with no teeth.”
Island Roads have since filled the pothole and resurfaced the whole road, but Alison says she wants compensation for the distress caused. She also claims that the road had been riddled with potholes for a long time, and it should have been fixed before her accident.
She said: “The road has been like that for many years. Lots of people have complained about that road. We were always careful and it was just unlucky that I happened to trip in it.
“They have basically said that it is not their liability and there is nothing they will do. If it had been my mum or any other elderly person it could have caused death. I just think it is absolutely disgusting. I would like them to admit liability and I think I should be entitled to compensation for the amount of work I have lost and the fact that my hand doesn’t work at all.”
An Island Roads spokesperson said: “We have every sympathy for Ms Smith and for the injuries she has sustained as a result of this incident. A claim relating to this matter was received, fully investigated and a formal response was issued to Ms Smith in April 2025.
“The road was inspected in October 2024 as part of its routine six-monthly inspection and in line with accepted industry practice. No defects were identified that met the threshold for intervention either at that time or during our investigation following the incident.
“However, having been brought to our attention, we arranged for the pothole referred to in the claim, along with another nearby pothole, to be repaired as part of our ongoing maintenance programme. Every claim is carefully considered on its individual merits, taking account of available evidence and the legal responsibilities of the highway authority and Island Roads as its service provider.
“Having completed our investigation, we concluded that we are unable to accept liability in this case. We appreciate the outcome will be disappointing for Ms Smith, but we have a responsibility to assess all claims consistently.”
