A FURIOUS man has hit out after "poorly" finished council work left 72-year-old Ron Field needing emergency surgery on his hand.

Mr Field, from Fernlea Road in Harwich, was walking in Dovercourt High Street when he tripped in a small hole on the pavement.

"There used to be a post there at one time which was for no parking or something," he said.

"It got damaged, apparently, and they took it away some time ago.

"I tripped in the left over hole and went actoss the path.

"I broke bones my thumb and have had to have wires and a hook in my thumb.

"Where it was cut they are saying I might need to have a skin graft."

A spokesman for Essex County Council Highways, the authority responsible for the pavement, said an assessment of the pavement defect has been carried out and meets the council's "strict assessment criteria for repair".

"Repairs are currently being scheduled to take place within 28 days as outlined in the Essex Highways Maintenance policy," she added.