Mansfield woman's death from falling into a pothole prompts calls for urgent road repairs
Steve Yemm raised the case at Prime Minister’s Questions
Last updated 22nd Jan 2026
An MP has raised the urgent need for road repairs after his constituent died after falling into a pothole.
Steve Yemm, the Labour MP for Mansfield, raised the death of his constituent with Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, saying it was time to "take action".
He said: "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.
"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?"
The Prime Minister responded: "Can I send my deepest sympathies to Beryl's family.
"I will make sure the roads minister meets the family at the earliest opportunity. It shows why tackling potholes really matters.
"We're investing £2 billion in 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 released a statement, which reads: “We, the Barrett family would like to address the event that we believe, caused the death of our Mother on December 25.
“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.”
She was taken to hospital and it was recommended that she should have surgery the following week. But she later went into respiratory failure and died on Christmas Day.
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.”
Councillor Bert Bingham, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, 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.”
On social media, Warsop Parish Council called it a "tragic incident" that occurred outside Lifespring (Warsop Town Hall) before Christmas, adding that their thoughts and condolences remain with Mrs Barrett's family at this difficult time.
"Our local MP has spoken about it today at Prime Minister's Questions and we led a minutes silence for Mrs Barrett at our last Council meeting, where a number of residents attended to voice their concerns about the roads in our parish.
"Warsop Parish Council would like to reiterate that it has no legal powers to fund or carry out road repairs, but we will continue to raise residents’ concerns with Nottinghamshire County Council, support discussions regarding potential next steps and advocate for answers and action.
"We will use our voice as a Parish Council wherever we can to improve safety for our community."