Grandmother, 77, is lucky to be alive after falling into 5ft-long pothole as ... trends now

A grandmother tripped over a giant pothole in Bournemouth and passed out after her head hit the pavement. 

Ann Nightingale, 77, was saying goodnight to a friend outside the Connaught Hotel Best Western in Bournemouth, Dorset, when the heel of her shoe caught the edge of the crater in the path.

It caused her to fall backwards and whack the back of her head on the edge of the 5ft-long pothole.

Mrs Nightingale, from Exmouth in Devon, recalled the sickening thud of her head hitting the ground and thinking she was about to die before losing consciousness.

Friend Kevin Dunn, a former HR manager on the QEII passenger liner, called for an ambulance while a night porter at the hotel came out with a blanket.

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The grandmother was taken to hospital where she was treated for an enormous lump on the back of her head and kept under observation before being released the next day.

Mrs Nightingale was wearing a think winter coat at the time and she believes this may have softened her fall.

She said: 'It does seem that potholes in roads are everywhere but you should feel safe while walking on a pavement and expect a level surface.

'I know that I was very lucky. Had I been a frailer person or had a different coat on then I probably would have cracked my skull and may have died or suffered brain damage.'

Mrs Nightingale had been invited on a two day break in Bournemouth by her recently widowed friend Jan Manning, 81.

The ladies met up with friend and Bournemouth resident Mr Dunn for a meal out at a Chinese restaurant on March 6.

Mr Dunn, 66, had just walked the pair back to their hotel when the incident happened.

He said: 'The restaurant was within walking distance of the hotel. As we reached the hotel I said goodnight and Ann went to hug me and she just fell.