The frustrated mother of a child with cerebral palsy warned her son has been 'disabled further' by poorly-maintained roads and pavements.

Lauren Shaw, 32, of Acorn Bank in Barrow, highlighted the impact conditions have on eight-year-old Bobby, limiting where he can go in his power chair.

And she has issued an urgent plea for more people to report potholes which can cause problems for disabled people.

“He already has to spend longer on the road to find the lower kerb so his chair can get onto the pavement,” she said.

“The works that get done on the roads and pavement mean replacing the tarmac, but it is never the same as it previously was.

“If a wheelchair or a power chair were to hit a pothole it could tip and could cause serious harm.

ISSUE: Road in poor condition in Roose

ISSUE: Road in poor condition in Roose

“Luckily, it has not happened to Bobby, but he has had a few near misses.

“I feel this has disabled him further because he has got the independence with this chair but he cannot enjoy it as we cannot just let him roam free.

“This is never going to get fixed unless we raise awareness and this is something I feel very strongly about.”

Mrs Shaw wants more people to report road issues to Cumbria County Council to counteract this issue and has been speaking with the Roosecote Community Hub group, who have mapped out priority routes which they believe should be easily accessible for the disabled.

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “We encourage residents, wherever possible, to raise highways issues such as potholes via the council website or the Highways Hotline.

“These reports are logged and allocated to the relevant team or officer to look into.

ISSUE: The road is in poor condition in Roose

ISSUE: The road is in poor condition in Roose

“A unique reference number is also provided that can then be used to track the status of their report.”

Mrs Shaw said that the issue came as a great frustration for Bobby, who just wants his independence but is unable to be fully free as there is the danger his chair could tip over hitting a pothole.

“What child of eight years old considers the size of a kerb,” she said.

“This is something that we can change through campaigning, awareness, and education.

"Bobby is not the only chair user in Barrow."