A SIDMOUTH man is urging elderly people to seek medical attention if they fall.

A SIDMOUTH man is urging elderly people to seek medical attention if they fall.

Jack Dennis, 93, a former St John Ambulance member, issued the plea after watching a woman tumble to the ground in the town on Sunday.

The woman, in her late 80s, was walking with her husband along the seafront at about 4pm when she tripped and badly injured her leg.

Mr Dennis, who was sitting on a bench near the lifeboat station, watched as the woman's family, who were close-by, rushed to her aid but instead of calling an ambulance they decided to drive her home to Exeter.

He said: "She couldn't walk at all-there was one person either side holding her. From my experience it looked like she has broken her femur. I broke mine about seven or eight years ago and I know what its like."

Mr Dennis, a retired Admiralty worker, said he tried to convince the family to phone an ambulance.

He added: "The family, in spite of all my protests, said she would be alright and didn't need an ambulance. I wish I had just phoned for it but the woman was surrounded by people. I just hope that they did take her to hospital- I was even thinking about ringing up RD&E to ask."

Now Mr Dennis wants to urge other elderly people who fall to have a medical check-up, even if just a precautionary measure.

He said: "Too many people are not inclined to go to hospital if they hurt themselves. They don't get the medical check up they need and it might lead to further injuries.