Where a local authority has statutory control over a footpath and is in the best position to know who carried out repair work, its failure to adduce evidence on that question entitles the court to draw adverse inferences that the authority itself performed the defective repairs. Pedestrians are required to keep a proper lookout but are not required to walk with eyes fixed on the ground at all times; an apportionment of 15% contributory negligence for failing to observe a footpath defect is within the trial judge's discretion.
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