Fife boy, 10, left with bloodied face after scooter hits damaged speed bump

Jaiden Easton has two black eyes, a bloodied face, and a potentially broken nose to show for his run in with a damaged speed bump on Lime Grove. He was riding his scooter home in the dark a little more than a week ago when he was flung over the handlebars face first into the road after hitting a cracked and damaged speed bump.

His mother, Karina, said two kind strangers brought her son back home, and she explained how terrible it felt to open the door and see him injured.

“It was absolutely horrible to see my wee boy walk through the door with his face all covered in blood,” she said. “The couple had seen him go face first right over his scooter because the small wheel of the scooter got stuck in the cracked speed bump. As the days have gone on he’s got two little black eyes and his wee nose looks broken.”

A few days after his accident, Jaiden went back to the speed bump to take some pictures of the damage. A corner appears to be chipped off, dropping sharply from the bump into a pothole. The edge also falls sharply off into a large crack.

“I know I speak for everyone just now, but the state of the roads and pavements is absolutely terrible,” Ms Easton said. “Potholes everywhere, not to mention people blowing out tyres - it’s ridiculous. Fife Council really needs to get them sorted. Not only kids and adults are falling, our cars are taking a battering on these roads as well.”

The issues were previously reported to the council nearly two months before Jaiden’s accident.

"The issue on Lime Grove was reported on November 13 and confirmed as a priority three defect, which has a three month target repair period,” Fife Council service manager Sara Wilson confirmed. “The speed table will be replaced within that time, however as a safety precaution the potholes at the edges of the table will be filled as a temporary measure."

She said that members of the public can report road faults on council 's website: ““There is an interactive map to let you know if the fault has already been reported. We send an email to acknowledge the fault has been reported. One of our team will then inspect the location and confirm the severity of the issue in accordance with our risk based assessment policy. If it is classed as a safety defect it is given a priority ranking between one and four and programmed to be repaired within the relevant timescale.”