A call has been made for drastic action to be taken in Keswick town centre to make it safer for locals and visitors.

Official figures show that ambulance crews have been called out to more than 50 falls in the town centre over the past four years – one a month, every month.

Those call outs total more than £13,000, but when hospital care is taken into account, the full cost of the injuries could total hundreds of thousands of pounds, according to town councillor Graham Kendall.

He says most of the falls are caused by the uneven kerbs along the Market Square and is calling on Cumbria County Council to take urgent action.

A Freedom of Information request by Mr Kendall into falls in the Market Square revealed that since 2013, North West Ambulance Service has attended 53 callouts.

He said: “It is something that people have been aware of for a while.

“When you walk along there, in some parts the kerb is completely flat and then it creeps up on you. It is really strange the way the paving has been designed.

“The pavements should all be on the same level. It is not a massive area and would not cost that much.

“The fall figures are not entirely down to the kerbs, but the vast majority are.

“I was really surprised just how many falls were recorded. I was also surprised at how generally it is known that people fall over.

“There has to be a trigger point where someone decides to do something about it.”

The councillor says that at an average cost of over £250 per ambulance hospitalisation, that’s potentially over £13,000 in ambulance costs alone and this figure does not consider any of the costs of hospital treatment.

He added: “Given having a hip fracture increases hospital costs by £10,964 compared to the year before the fracture, the full bill faced by the NHS for Keswick Market Square’s kerbs could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

The FOI also reveals that Cumbria County Council has not recorded details of any representations or discussions between North West Ambulance Service and Cumbria County Council regarding the number of falls in Keswick Market Square.

Mr Kendall said: “I think these figures are the tip of the iceberg and that many other people fall, but an ambulance is not called.

“The people I’m really concerned about are the elderly and those moving into social care.

“The county council has announced various work in Keswick.

“It’s the responsibility of the authority to put proper paving in place. That work could pay for itself by reducing costs to the NHS and in social care that can follow hip fractures resulting from falls.

“Most importantly, it would reduce the harm that too many people suffer when visiting the Market Square.”

A spokesman for the county council said: "We are aware there have been a number of trips and falls on Market Place, Keswick, and we sympathise with anyone involved in such an incident.

"However, the design and construction of the Market Place was carried out to national standards and was subject to extensive consultation with bodies including Keswick Town Council, Allerdale Borough Council, Lake District National Park Authority and Disability and Motability groups.

"The design and layout was also subject to a safety audit carried out at every stage, including post construction, and the council has no plans to make any changes to Market Place."