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Bollards removed six months after woman injured

Alex Pope
BBC News, Bedfordshire
Andy Collins
BBC News, Bedfordshire
Reporting fromLeighton Buzzard
Jilly Fernandez Jilly, in a hospital gown, in a wheelchair, in a hospital, with her arm bandaged and in a sling, and a very swollen and bruised face. Jilly Fernandez
Ms Fernandez said she was taken to hospital immediately after she fell, for injuries to her face and a broken arm

A woman who claimed she was seriously injured after tripping over a collapsed bollard said she was both "angry and happy" they have been removed.

Jilly Fernandez, from Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, said she has been left with life-changing injuries after the fall in the town centre on 12 December.

Gennaro Borrelli, a local business owner, said the bollards were taken away this month, two weeks after some had been replaced.

Central Bedfordshire Council, which maintains local roads, confirmed the bollards had been removed as they were no longer needed.

Holly Nichols/BBC Jilly Fernandez, standing outside, by the side of a road, with bollards behind her, and shops in the distance. She has long blonde hair, tied back, is wearing a large silver necklace and a flower patterned jacket. Holly Nichols/BBC
Jilly Fernandez said the incident had affected her confidence

The bollards, also called wands, were installed in Bridge Street about five years ago, as part of social distancing measures introduced during the Covid pandemic.

Ms Fernandez said she was shopping and crossed the road when she caught her foot on the fallen bollard, fell over and hit her face on the curb.

She was taken to hospital in an ambulance, where she was treated for a broken nose, arm and chipped cheekbone.

She now has titanium plates in her face as her eye socket was broken in three places.

Holly Nichols/BBC A road in Leighton Buzzard, showing several bollards, two on the ground, with shops in the distance, a path and a road. Holly Nichols/BBC
The bollards were removed earlier this month

After noticing the bollard had been removed, Ms Fernandez said: "I had a sinking feeling, it's a bit too late for me, I have life-changing injuries, it's 50/50 whether I'll ever get the feeling on the left-hand side of my face.

"I'm pretty angry and happy that no-one else is going to have the same outcome as me."

Gennaro Borrelli A street in Leighton Buzzard, showing rows of shops, and a road, with a woman walking along it. There is bunting on the buildings. There are no cars on the road. Gennaro Borrelli
There are currently no bollards or wands, as the council calls then on Bridge Street

Mr Borrelli, who owns Gennaro's Organic Hair and Beauty, said at the time the bollards "served a purpose, it did help as the pavement is narrow".

"What I find astonishing, even after Jilly had this awful accident, [is that] it took them months and months before anyone came out to replace the broken bollards.

"We waited so long for them to be repaired, and two weeks later they've come along and taken them all away."

A spokesperson from the council said: "The wands were initially introduced during Covid to allow social distancing in the area.

"As there is no longer a requirement for additional space, they were removed on 13 June."

Ms Fernandez said the injury had "changed my whole life"

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