A MOTHER who collapsed over a fallen sign outside Cirencester’s 99p Store, suffering severe bruising, says she was left distraught after being shown no compassion from head office staff.

Carol Bartlett, 55, had just finished her shopping at the store in Cirencester’s new retail park in Bridge Road. She said on walking out of the store, she did not see the fallen Nescafé A-board and tripped over it, hitting the floor with some force.

“I think it was a windy day and it had fallen over, or maybe some kids had knocked it,” said Mrs Bartlett, who lives in Preston. “I came out of the shop and looked one way and then the other, turned round and went down like a lump of lead.”

Mrs Bartlett said she wrote a total of five emails to the head office, and the only response she received told her to take legal action.

“I had to take eight days off work because of it, because of all my trips to the doctors. I lost around £340. I thought the 99p Store might give me the money back for it. But they have shown a total lack of compassion,” she added.

“I’m so disappointed. I’ve lost money because of them. If this had happened to an older person they would have broken every bone in their body. It’s not about the money, I just want them to say sorry. Would they rather go down the legal route than just do a good will gesture?”

“Where is the compassion in this world?” asked Mrs Bartlett. “I’d just like this to get a bit of recognition.”

As a result of Mrs Bartlett’s fall she said she suffered severe bruising all down her left knee, a bruised right ankle, a pulled thigh and a badly hurt arm and neck. Even now, more than one month on, her back still aches.

Despite her ordeal, the part-time cleaner and mother-of-one took the time to praise the manager of the Cirencester branch, as well as two other women who came to her rescue when she fell.

“The manageress was absolutely lovely,” she said. “She was genuinely upset for me. I was so shook up. I even thought I’d broken my thigh. She said she should probably write it down in the accident book but I was shaking. I just thought ‘I want to go home’. I’ve never felt like that before.

“I’ve even gone back to the store a few times to try and see the two women who helped me again, I don’t know if I even said thank you.”

A spokesman for the 99p Store told the Standard that they could not comment at it was potentially a legal matter.

Charities supporting blind and visually impaired people have called for the removal of A-boards from busy pavements as they can be a serious trip hazard.

Do you think there is an A-board problem in Cirencester? Email mar@wiltsglosstandard.co.uk with your views.