St Paul’s Cray man who got stuck down open manhole says it has taken almost a year to fix

Scrap metal dealer Michael Pelling tumbled two metres into the hole while walking to his car on the night of February 24, last year.

The 36-year-old, of Chipperfield Road, was trapped inside the dark, damp hole for around half an hour before firefighters arrived and pulled him out with ropes.

He fractured his wrist, chipped a bone and damaged his back during the fall.

Last year, Thames Water, which owns the drain, apologised to Mr Pelling and replaced the cover the day after his fall.

Bur Mr Pelling says it was not replaced correctly and feared someone else could suffer his plight.

When News Shopper spoke to him last week, he said: "It’s nearly a year on and still nothing has been done about it.

"It’s just got little plastic barriers around it.

"The cover looks loose. There’s still a big massive hole with a two metre drop.

"I thought within a week they would have come out and sorted that drain."

Mr Pelling, who was off work for four months due to his injuries, said he was concerned children playing in the street could mess with the barriers and fall down the hole.

"It’s not good really, is it? What if a child fell down there?" he said.

"Even animals could fall down. It’s on a public footpath."

Thames Water workers attended to replace the damaged manhole cover on Tuesday morning (January 27).

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “After last year’s incident we replaced the manhole cover immediately but having been told there is now further damage, we’ll make sure any necessary repair work is carried out and the area made safe as a priority.”

This afternoon, Mr Pelling said: "It has all been fixed, which I'm really, really pleased to see. 

"I just can't see why it took so long."