THE son of a pensioner who suffered a broken arm when he fell on an icy subway today said his father could be in plaster for up to three months.

Tom Ashton fell in the subway at Salford, in Blackburn town centre during the cold snap at the end of December last year.

Today son Stephen said his dad was recovering well but may be in plaster for longer than originally thought.

Stephen said: "My dad went back to Blackburn Royal Infirmary on Monday and they put a full cast on. The break is worse than they thought and he could be in plaster for three months."

Mr Ashton, who was on his own at the time of the fall, was left badly shaken by the incident and is being looked after by a family friend at his Blackburn home.

He blamed Blackburn with Darwen Council for not gritting the path, which was not on the authority's priority list.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents also criticised the council at the time and urged it to think about gritting much-used paths in icy weather.

A spokesman for ROSPA said: "People need to take extra care and the elderly need to be more vigilant than most. Supermarkets, along with the council, could also consider investing a few pounds gritting areas outside stores."

Blackburn with Darwen Council said at the time that there was not the manpower to grit everywhere.

A spokesman said: "Gritting staff were extremely busy with the onset of severe weather conditions and work had to be prioritised. Unfortunately that meant that some areas such as the subway were not immediately gritted."