Compensation fraud targeted

Badly-maintained pavements are cited on the claims

Blackpool Council is targeting people falsely claiming compensation after falls on pavements, after a large increase in the number of claims.

In the past five years, there has been a threefold increase in the number of people claiming to be injured after a fall on a badly-maintained pavement or road in the town.

National figures show that in the last decade, the number of similar claims made against councils as a whole has increased by 800%.

About 350 people made claims against Blackpool Council in 1998, but that figure has now risen to nearly 1,000.

The council says it will investigate any claim it thinks is dubious, and press the police to take action.

It blames the rise on what it calls the "compensation culture" and the methods of "no win, no fee" law firms.

It says it will do what it can to stop council tax payers having to foot the bill.