A HIGHWAYS boss has slipped and broken his ankle on one of the roads he is in charge of maintaining.

Coun Derek Antrobus slipped on some ice on an ungritted pavement in Salford. He badly injured his ankle and has had to have an urgent operation.

The Labour councillor, who is responsible for maintaining the roads, is now recovering at his home in Swinton.

He is expected to be off work for several weeks.

Coun Antrobus said: “I did it just around the corner from where I live.

“It is a fairly bad break. I’m still recovering from the surgery and I’m not feeling too good at all.”

A spokesman for Salford council said the councillor

accepted that he should have been wearing more sensible shoes.

The spokesman added that the pavement in question had not been gritted because the council had ‘prioritised the primary roads’ in the area.

She added that the councillor’s fall had been ‘simply an accident’.

Coun Norman Owen, leader of the Salford Lib Dems, said: “We wish Coun Antrobus all the best for a speedy recovery.

“Maybe in next year’s budget we could have some money for gritting the roads.”