THE large amounts of public money being paid out to people pursuing compensation has become a big headache for councils.

This time four years ago, Blackburn with Darwen Council had dug deep to give more than £1.39million to people claiming because of alleged injuries caused by things like tripping on uneven pavements.

Then they decided enough was enough and decided to focus on investigating closely to let everyone know they were no soft touch.

As a result, they were able to expose a whole host of bogus claims - like the man who claimed damages for tripping over an uneven pavement when he had actually fallen over his own dog.

By effectively policing the system and deterring would-be fraudsters the council is to be congratulated for cutting the bill to this year's accident total of just £249,000 for trips and slips.

That means more than £1.5million will be freed up for highways maintenance and to keep council tax down.

But Lancashire County Council seems to have some way to go to achieve similar results.

It is heading for £6.4million worth of payouts by the end of the year with claims still coming in at 300 a month. More action is needed.