Beryl had broken her femur and the top of her previous hip replacement, her family say
Carrington Walker and Annabal Bagdi
19:10, 21 Jan 2026
Beryl Barrett died on Christmas Day, a week after her fall(Image: Submitted)
An 87-year-old woman who regularly attended church and bingo with friends has died after falling into a pothole, leading her family to call for action to tackle the UK’s crumbling roads.
Beryl Barrett passed away on Christmas Day, a week after getting her walking stick stuck in a pothole outside Warsop Town Hall, in Mansfield, on December 19. Her local MP, Steve Yemm, Labour MP for Mansfield, echoed the family’s calls for ministers to ‘take action’ amid what he called a “shocking” backlog of road defects across the area.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, on Wednesday (January 21), Mr Yemm said Nottinghamshire County Council had “literally thousands” of potholes awaiting repair and pressed Sir Keir Starmer to meet Ms Barrett’s family, reports Birmingham Live.
Nottinghamshire County Council has responded to the family’s message(Image: KN/MI)
“Sadly, on Christmas Day, my constituent, Beryl Barrett, passed away after tragically falling into an unrepaired pothole, and I’m sure the whole house will wish to share my condolences with the family,” he told MPs.
Beryl was taken to hospital, where it was recommended that she should have surgery the following week. But she later went into respiratory failure and died on Christmas Day.
Mr Yemm continued: “In my constituency of Mansfield, there are literally thousands of potholes in our roads, which [Nottinghamshire] County Council are failing to repair. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that it’s time the council took action to repair our roads, and will he meet with Beryl’s family, so that we can work together to ensure that no more accidents like this happen again?”
Sir Keir Starmer offered his condolences and said the Roads Minister would meet the family “at the earliest opportunity”. He added that the Government was investing £2 billion in the East Midlands to improve local transport and introducing tougher standards to ensure councils carry out repairs properly.
Beryl’s family say she “regularly attended church, bingo and met family and friends for events”(Image: Submitted)
“Can I send my deepest sympathies to Beryl’s family,” the Prime Minister replied, adding, “It shows why tackling potholes really matters. We’re investing £2 billion in the East Midlands to fix the roads and improve local transport.
“We’re also putting in place tough new standards so that councils must prove they’re fixing roads properly.”
Beryl’s family issued a statement on Wednesday describing her “very active life” which included regular trips to church and bingo.
“We, the Barrett family, would like to address the event that we believe caused the death of our Mother on December 25,” the family noted. “She was 87 years old, living independently in Warsop. She had a very active life. She regularly attended church, bingo and met family and friends for events.
“She used a walking aid, and on December 19, after attending the hairdresser, she attempted to cross the road in Church Street, Warsop, via the pedestrian crossing. She clipped the wheel of her walking aid and fell backwards onto the road.
“Many kind members of the public rushed to help her. For that, we are truly grateful. Family members attended, as did an ambulance. They confirmed that she had broken her femur and the top of her previous hip replacement.”
The family added: “We believe that, if that accident hadn’t have occurred (despite her underlying health issues), she would not have passed away in this way.”
Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, Councillor Bert Bingham, said: “We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of a resident in Warsop in December, and our thoughts are with their family and friends.
“Any reports of incidents on our highway resulting in injury are taken extremely seriously and are investigated to establish the circumstances in which they occurred.
“In this case, we do not feel that it is appropriate to comment further until any relevant investigations have taken place.”