Woman who fell through hole in Blackpool Pier undergoes spinal surgery

A woman who fell more than 30ft through a hole in Blackpool Central Pier is now 'recovering' from surgery to her spine and elbow.

It comes as a GoFundMe appeal launched by her friends nears its £5,000 target, LancsLive reports. The woman, in her 50s, was queuing for a fairground ride with two children when she plunged to the beach below at around 4pm on August 6.

Emergency services, including police officers, paramedics, and firefighters, raced to the scene and the pier was evacuated. Witnesses told of hearing a horrific "thud" as the woman fell and photos from the scene showed a gaping hole in the pier following the incident.

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It is believed to have been a service hole that would normally be covered up and has since been boarded over. LancsLive reported last week how a family friend set up a GoFundMe to raise support for the woman and her family.

Dr Steve Taylor, describing himself as a "close family friend, GP and church leader", originally aimed to raise £2,000. However this was quickly increased to £5,000 after a flurry of donations came in.

In the fundraiser description, Dr Taylor said that the woman had recently lost her husband to sepsis and has two children to support. He wrote on X: "I can’t believe of all people, she has been through so much & now fallen through a pier at Blackpool (shocking state of affairs) & has multiple spinal injuries."

He added: "She will need a lot of support in the coming weeks. They have had the worst of times. Clearly this won’t fix the situation but maybe the future can be a little bit brighter with support."

In a new update to the GoFundMe, Dr Taylor wrote: "She is