VIDEO: The more fortunate are just experiencing rainwater shooting up their legs when they stand on the stones which rock up and down in puddles.

Foss Street has the one of the largest footfalls of any street in Dartmouth and is pedestrian-only, from 10am until 4pm. The road is paved with blocks and bricks which have an anti-slip pattern on their faces. Many of these and other brick-sized stones are loose.

Some traders even fear the stones could be used to break shop windows and are calling for them to be relaid by Devon County Council.

Joe Murtagh, of Dartmouth Canvas Factory, said: “The paving is designed so they have enough water pressure to go a metre up you leg.

“No end of elderly have fallen over them. I’ve lost count of the numbers; we’ve offered our chairs so many times. They [the paving stones] don’t get properly reset.”

Simon Riley, of House of Hawkins in Foss Street, said: “Some of the stones went down all right when they were replaced, but some of it is terrible. I found a half a brick inside the doorway of our shop.

“Considering the number of people who travel through at night from the pub, one of the shops could easily find themselves with a broken window.

“It isn’t long ago since a chap cut himself badly when he punched through a window.

“A brick lying in the street, provides a simpler method of breaking a window.

“Also, we have elderly people who could easily trip. We’ve seen it before and you could really be hurt.

“They [the county council] come every now and again and cement down a patch but they are never even and you can see that all down the street there are loose and uneven stones. I don’t know who is responsible for the street but it should be fixed before someone is hurt.”

Sue Kendal, who works at Simon Drew, said: “The water does go up your leg and we are aware of people tripping but we don’t always see it. The problem is the delivery trucks which use Foss Street out of the pedestrian hours and they break up the bricks.”

Jane Murtagh said: “What I was to see is the county council lay it properly so the little old ladies don’t fall over and break their noses. I have been here 20 years and have made many cups of tea for old ladies and given them a chair so that they can recover.”

A Devon County Council spokesman said: “We regularly check on Foss Street, as it is a main walking route which is inspected once a month, and safety defects are repaired when they are found. Unfortunately, loose paving is not repaired unless the moving paving stone, block, kerb or channel edge rises or falls more than 20mm.”

This method of upkeep was confirmed by Simon Drew, who said: ”A chap comes around once a month to check on the loose bricks. If he finds one that meets what he’s looking for, he takes a picture puts it on a map; just that particular brick. Then, a lorry comes from Exeter and they fix that one brick.

“Yes, there are loose stones and walking on them after rain can mean you get a jet of water up your trouser leg but I really like them and would hate to see them replaced with tarmac.”

In a recent survey completed by Help the Aged, it was estimated that, every day, there are 2,300 older people who trip and fall on broken pavements.