A great-gran told today (Tue) how she won a one-woman battle against jobsworth workmen – by sitting on her zimmer frame while they laid tarmac around her.
Disabled Linda Mills, 70, refused to budge from the path after workmen refused to drop the kerb on her driveway to allow her to park outside her home.
Determined Linda donned her pink slippers and grabbed a newspaper while she sat on her blue zimmer frame forcing the workmen to tarmac around her – leaving her perched on an island.
After 30 minutes officials from her local council telephoned her after being told about her protest and apologised for the mix-up and agreed to carry out the work there and then.
Today (Tue) Linda, who has four grown-up sons, ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, said: “I was never going to move because I knew I was in the right.
“I have always believed in standing up for yourself so I just did the only thing I could think of doing and took my zimmer frame out and planted myself on the path.
“It was quite comical and the workmen, to be fair, were fine but I knew if I stayed there long enough the council officials would have to listen to me.
“My worry was that if the tarmac was put out on the path the workmen would leave without dropping my kerb.
“In my head I was playing for time, I knew either the workmen would have to come back to tarmac where I had been sitting or they would eventually have to fix my driveway.
“In they end the latter happened so it was worth sitting outside in the street in my slippers for half-an-hour.”
Linda, who suffers from mobility problems, applied to her local council to drop the kerb on the driveway outside her £170,000 three-bedroom semi on Greenfinch Road, Smith’s Wood, West Mids.
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council agreed to carry out the work and wrote to the retired carer telling her to expect workmen on June 23.
But when they turned up they told Linda they had only been instructed to resurface the pavement outside her property.
Linda, whose husband George died in 1998 aged 54, said: “They turned up at my home at 9am and told me they would start work.
“I told them I was relieved the driveway would be dropped down because it has been damaging my car but they looked blank and said they hadn’t been instructed to do it.
“They were fine but simply said it had nothing to do with them but they must lay the tarmac because otherwise it would go off.
“I told them I didn’t want any trouble but they must understand that there has been a mistake and I was not moving until the work was carried out which had been promised.
“They were fine about it and simply laid the tarmac around me. I was sitting there for about half-an-hour until the council called me and sent two officials round to apologise.
“There was quite a crowd who gathered to watch what was happening and they cheered when I told them I had won and the council were going to do what they had promised.
“Once the workmen had been given new instructions they removed the kerb stone and lowered my driveway.
“I didn’t really know what all the fuss was about, I have always stood up for myself and having four sons make you strong.
“I’m just glad now I can park outside my house without damaging the my car.”
Wesley Woolery, 28, videoed the moment Linda Mills was marooned on the path by workmen who laid tarmac around her zimmer frame.
The lorry driver, from Wolverhampton, West Mids., said: “I delivered the tarmac and as I was about to leave I saw this lady taking her zimmer frame out and sat in the middle of the path.
“The workmen just started laying the tarmac around her. I went over and told them it wasn’t on and they should stop but they just carried on.
“Everyone was fine about it but I videoed it because I wanted proof it happened in case the lady needed help later on.
“It was shocking really but I’m glad she got the work done which she had been promised. It shows what you can do if you take a stand.
“It shouldn’t have gone that far. If I had been doing the work I would have done the driveway kerb for her, it was obvious she needed it doing.
“From what I understand, no one at the company who did it have lost their jobs.”
After posting the video on his Facebook page, more than 500,000 people have viewed and shared it around the world.
