A bolt from the blue

BEWARE: One of the bolts in Kaitaia's old Pak'nSave carpark that has landed an Ahipara woman in hospital. PICTURE/SUPPLIED

One moment Barbara Hutchins was walking back to her car in Kaitaia's old Pak'nSave carpark, the next she was sprawled on the concrete, one hip broken and one shoulder dislocated, her head underneath the car where her husband Mike was waiting for her.

Mrs Hutchins (73) was flown to Whangarei Hospital that day, Saturday, where she underwent surgery to repair her hip yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile her husband was concerned that his wife would not be the only person who had been unaware of the hazard that had tripped her.

"Someone has removed the old shopping trolley park but has left the concrete-embedded bolts that supported it," he said.

"They are a real hazard for us oldies, and may be worth a public warning."

Mr Hutchins added that within seconds of falling his wife had been surrounded by 20 or more people, all offering assistance. One placed a jacket under her head while another phoned for an ambulance.

He wished to acknowledge all the assistance given, from St John, Kaitaia Hospital and emergency staff, and not least the many members of the public who had gone to his wife's aid in the carpark.

"You have to live in a town like Kaitaia to see that sort of response," he said.

Foodstuffs, which owns the vacant supermarket building, was invited to comment yesterday but had not done so at edition time.

The company did want to know what Mrs Hutchins had been doing there, and was assured that the carpark was used by hundreds of people every day.