A MAN was left bloodied and badly bruised after a fall in a supermarket car park which he blamed on a lack of proper lighting.

Terry Tindall, 77, had visited Lidl on Peel Street in town with his daughter when he took a nasty fall in the car park which he described as being ‘pitch black’.

Terry said the lights that should illuminate the walkway through the centre of the car park were not working, and said he was unable to see where he was walking. He tripped and fell over the walkway, badly bruising his knee and face and spent more than four hours in hospital while his injuries were treated.

“He was walking between two parked cars and couldn’t see where he was going because the car park was so dark,” said his daughter Kate Tindall, 42, Dodworth Road.

“The lights in the car park weren’t working so he couldn’t see where he was going. He fell quite hard and ended up hitting his head. We phoned for an ambulance but one didn’t arrive so I took him to A and E where we had to wait for four hours to be seen.

“I think the light being out is dangerous, as my dad found out. What if it had been a child who ran out and was hit by a car? It gets dark at 4pm at the moment and I can’t understand why there was no lights in the carpark.”

A spokesperson from Lidl said: “We were extremely sorry to learn of this incident and our thoughts are with the customer and his family. The health and safety of our customers is of the utmost importance to us, and we have strict procedures in place to ensure that our store facilities are maintained to a high standard.

“We are in ongoing contact with the customer’s family as we investigate the matter further, and can confirm that temporary lights have been put in place ahead of a long term solution being implemented.”