An NHS worker grandmother, who broke her ribs at Jeremy Clarkson's Cotswolds pub, claims he ignored her subsequent letter.
The former Top Gear and Grand Tour star bought The Windmill pub in Asthall, Oxfordshire, for around £1,000,000 two years ago.
Having renovated the spot and renamed it The Farmer's Dog, Mr Clarkson opened its doors to the public in August 2024.
Pub customer Elizabeth Palmby broke her ribs and had to have surgery after tripping and slicing open her hand on ‘razor sharp’ temporary metal covers last November.
Read More: 'Serious concerns' raised for Jeremy Clarkson's Cotswolds pub car park plans
Surgeons later had to operate to remove metal fragments from the carpark that were left inside her hand.
Now the 68-year-old has been left with a ‘horrible’ jagged scar as a permanent reminder of when what was supposed to be a 'fun' trip to the pub turned into a nightmare.
The pub has been made famous around the world after featuring on Jeremy Clarkson's smash hit Amazon Prime series Clarkson's Farm, which follows his exploits as he runs a farm and pub in the Cotswolds.
Elizabeth, of Scunthorpe, Lincs, said: “It was supposed to be a great fun trip - I really wanted to visit as I enjoyed watching his Amazon show. But it was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
"I bought my most expensive boxes of eggs from the farm shop, but then I fell on them and was left with diddly squat and was badly injured.
Read More: Jeremy Clarkson set for legal battle after fan's 'horrific injury' outside pub
"I know Jeremy is a perfectionist and the pub itself was perfect, and the staff were great, but the carpark was a total disaster.
"It is very dangerous and an accident waiting to happen. I am probably scarred for life.
"Luckily, I keep myself fit and healthy, and I think that helped me, but anyone frail could have been more seriously injured.
"At the minute that carpark is a danger to visitors and needs fixing urgently.”
The NHS worker and her husband, Darren, had made the three- and half-hour journey down from their home, first visiting the Diddly Squat Farm, then the following day the Farmer’s Dog pub.
Read More: Jeremy Clarkson set for legal battle after fan's 'horrific injury' outside pub
Driving rain the previous night had turned the field car park of the pub in Asthall into a virtual mud bath with large metal sheets/panels covering hidden ‘squelchy’ puddles.
Elizabeth added: "It was very muddy as it had rained the night before.
"The cars were continuous, and you really had to watch out as every time they went over these aluminium sheets that would move and rise up as they weren’t fixed down, and it was muddy underneath.”
Elizabeth had a soft drink in the pub and visited the on-site Diddly Squat farm shop to buy two boxes of six eggs as a gift, and was carrying them back to the car when she fell.
She added: “It happened in slow motion - I caught my foot on one of the upturned sheets and my feet went from under me.
Read More: Jeremy Clarkson has victory in latest battle at his Cotswolds pub
"I instinctively threw my hand out to save myself and badly banged my knee. I fell flat, landing on the bag carrying the eggs, smashing them all.
"It was really scary, as then I was struggling to breathe and was in incredible pain. I knew I had done some damage then and had to go to hospital.”
After reporting the accident to staff in the carpark her husband - a former ambulance worker - rushed her to Witney Community hospital where they X-rayed her hand and knee.
It was only then that she saw the full extent of the damage to her hand after it had been cleaned of mud.
Grandmother Elizabeth, who has a 45-year-old son and two stepchildren aged 30 and 29, added: "The first I knew my hand was injured was on the way to the hospital when I touched the door handle, and I saw blood, but it was still covered in mud.
Read More: Jeremy Clarkson 'losing a fortune' after 'total disaster' at Cotswolds pub
"So, I didn't know how bad it was. But when they cleaned it up, I saw a gaping, open, jagged, ugly wound. It was horrible and very painful.
"The carpark covers must have been razor sharp to do that sort of damage. The nurse could only put steri strips on where the cut was because she said normal stitches would reopen.”
After being discharged and bandaged, she returned to the pub to fill in the accident book, and after a complimentary meal and new eggs, she returned home.
But after a consultant from the Witney Hospital reviewed her x-rays, he rang, suggesting she go to her local Scunthorpe General Hospital to have ‘metal fragments’ removed from her hand.
The part-time NHS administrator had shortness of breath, so she also had a chest x-ray, revealing broken ribs, before being referred to nearby Castle Hill hospital in Cottingham to see a plastic surgeon for hand surgery.
Read More: Cotswolds pubs where you’re likely to bump into a celebrity
Doctors there spent hours "reconstructing" the wound and removing metal carpark cover pieces, eventually using ten stitches to close the jagged, deep gash.
“The consultant brought out some metal that he dug out of my hand and asked if I wanted to keep it as a souvenir, but I didn’t need them as the scar on my hand and my painful ribs are a permanent reminder of my pub trip.”
Elizabeth later returned to the pub with her husband to see if things had improved after her accident, and was shocked to see nothing had changed.
She added: “I stayed in the car as my hand was still bandaged and i was embarrassed about what happened. But I had to see if it had been made safe, but it was exactly the same.
"Nothing had changed. I at least expected to see a sign saying ‘caution, uneven surface.’ But there wasn’t.
Read More: Jeremy Clarkson admits 'jealousy and envy' of Richard Hammond
"There appeared to be little or no maintenance of the sheets; they weren’t screwed in or fixed in place. It was very shoddy.
"It was as if nothing had happened to me, and business as usual. When I saw someone else nearly fall, I knew I had to do something as I couldn’t forgive myself if an elderly person or child was seriously injured and I could have stopped it.”
Elizabeth later wrote to the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire presenter and his pub, highlighting the dangers of the carpark, but got no reply.
Planning permission to install a permanent hard surface in the Car Park has since been approved by West Oxfordshire District Council last month, but work cannot begin until a "detailed" surface water drainage scheme has been submitted and approved in the next few months.
But until then, customers still face the temporary metal coverings, which Elizabeth says pose an ongoing hazard.
Read More: Diddly Squat named best farm shop in the Cotswolds at awards
She added: “It needs fixing now, not later, as more people could be seriously injured in the meantime.”
Despite feeling a bit ‘intimidated’ by Clarkson and his celebrity persona, she contacted accident specialists Express Solicitors and started a legal claim for compensation.
Accident specialist Jack Klein of Express Solicitors said: “Elizabeth suffered a horrific injury on what should have been a fun day out.
"Celebrities are not above the law; they need to make sure their premises are safe and fit for purpose to protect people visiting their premises inside and out.”
The Farmer's Dog has been contacted for comment by SWNS.
