A mother-of-two seriously injured in a fall in a Marks and Spencer says she had to sell her car to fund treatment as the supermarket giant is yet to award her compensation – nine months on.

Jenni Mathews, from Rusthall, slipped on a puddle in the fruit aisle, caused by a leaky fridge, at the branch in Tunbridge Wells last July.

The 38-year-old, who is a vet administrator, was buying groceries at the Fountains Retail Park store for a date night with her husband when the accident happened. The slip left her with bruising and ligament damage to her ankle – and a number of long-term problems likely to need surgery.

She says she is now in constant pain and has to rely on strong painkillers and expensive weekly physiotherapy and acupuncture sessions to get by.

Marks and Spencer has admitted liability and says it is in the process of dealing with her claim for compensation. It has already given her £1,000 but Mrs Mathews says this ran out in November.

She told KentOnline: "I have neurological damage in my left knee, spreading pain to my hip and ankle, and then an MRI scan on my ankle showed that I have bone-on-bone bruising and ligament damage.

"I also have ulnaritis (serious arm pain) going up through my left elbow and I get tension headaches.

"It's been a nightmare really. My GP's answer is to give me more tramadol, naproxen and gabapentin for pain relief, while we wait for the hospital to confirm what surgery I need.

"I've gone from being unwilling to take a paracetamol to reliant on very strong prescription medication to get through the day."

The cost of all of her treatments is between £96 to £122 a week and is something she says the family are struggling to cope with financially.

She said: "My husband went out and sold our only family car to carry on paying for my treatment.

"When that money ran out, he took out a credit card. This will give my family a poor credit rating for years to come.

"I have weekly physio, acupuncture and more than five prescriptions to pay for each month. It's too much on my meagre salary working part-time.

"I also needed to pay for childcare so I could attend physio and acupuncture alone, as per Covid restrictions at the time, and to prevent my toddler from seeing me cry as I was manipulated and poked with needles."

Mrs Mathews has kept in touch with Marks and Spencer over the issue but feels it is showing 'no interest' in her case.

She said: "Liability has been firmly established but I have not been given any meaningful help to overcome my health problems, caused by my fall."

Mrs Mathews accepted an interim payment of £1,000 by Keogh, Marks and Spencer's insurance company, last September, two months on from the accident.

She used it to replace the car her husband had sold a week prior.

She said: "I was offered a small interim payment which we took so we could buy a small, very old car, to help us do the school runs and get me to physiotherapy each week.

"The difference between selling my Land Rover and buying a 16-year-old Toyota Aygo has all been spent on physiotherapy, acupuncture, medication, swimming and childcare.

"All this meant the money ran out by November."

Mrs Mathews was also unhappy with store staff and how they reacted following her fall.

“We are sorry that this accident happened and for the pain and upset this has caused Mrs Mathews."

In the accident, she crushed some cheese and grapes and shook up some port she was hoping to buy, which she was then charged for when her shopping went through the till. She says her card was taken from her as she lay on the floor.

In a statement, a spokesman for Marks and Spencer said: “We are sorry that this accident happened and for the pain and upset this has caused Mrs Mathews.

"We take safety very seriously and have robust procedures in place across all our stores.

"We are currently working with Mrs Mathews to resolve her case as quickly as possible.”