THE COUNTY council has still not permanently fixed a handrail outside the home of a blind pensioner after promising to repair it in November.

Despite various suggestions that the rail would be fixed shortly, last week permanent repairs had still not been made.

Grandson Ben Jones, 34, has attempted for three years to get the handrail repaired outside his grandad Colin Bryn Jones' Letcombe Regis home.

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The state of the rail late last week. Picture: Ben Jones

He has labelled the situation a ‘disgrace’ and added: “We have had two nice days (for workers to fix the rail) and now its back to freezing.

“Its starting to take the mickey now as my grandad had an eye operation yesterday and there is an uncovered hole at the top.”

Explaining that the temporary repair has caused further problems, he continued: “Now he has nothing to hold on to as they have taken it away.

“They have had plenty of time to repair it but are doing this making it unsafe for my grandad."

After being contacted in November, the council pledged to fix the handrail ‘as a matter of urgency’.

This is despite having said just two days previously that no further action was needed.

Mr Bryn Jones, 87, is ‘very wobbly’ and uses a walking stick to aid mobility, according to his grandson, who fears he could have an accident in the meantime.

In December, an Oxfordshire County Council spokesman said: “Our team visited on December 20 to rebed the supporting post to make the rail safe. In the first week in January they will return.”

Workmen did return then, but did not fully repair the rail, instead implementing a temporary repair and saying they would return later.

County Council spokesman Martin Crabtree said the council hopes to fix the rail this week

He explained: “We are working on a permanent solution and so the right parts need to be used and, unfortunately, we found that the parts sent were not correct. While we wait for the correct parts – articulated joints that suit the slope of the steps - we have ensured that the rail is left in a safe state.”

But Mr Jones has suggested that council workers first told him it was too cold for them to complete the work and did not mention that the parts were not correct.

With local bus services facing cuts, Mr Jones said he often walks or takes taxis, meaning he has to walk down the staircase more regularly.