A 91-year-old woman was left waiting for 18 months to get specially made medical shoes.

Edith Nichol was first seen by orthotics specialists at Colchester General Hospital in January 2013 and was told she would have to wait a few months to get a pair of shoes and a pair of slippers.

Mrs Nichol needs the special shoes because one of her legs is about four inches shorter than the other as a result of contracting polio aged 18 months.

But the correct shoes did not arrive until June 2014 - 18 months after her first appointment.

Deborah Lawes, Mrs Nichol’s daughter, who lives in Brook Street, Great Bromley, said: “This has been a catalogue of disasters for my mother.

“Firstly the shoe for her disabled foot was made too big and it just fell off when she walked, [then] she had an appointment to fit the new shoe which was so small, she couldn’t even get her foot in it. So we were back to square one.

“My mother was so upset and she actually said ‘I’ll die before I get them’.”

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