Local authorities paid out more than £2m in compensation over the past year to pedestrians who have tripped on poorly maintained pavements.
Freedom of information requests made by the AA found there were 10,200 claims for trips and slips on pavements over the past 12 months.
The FOI responses, which came from 365 councils, revealed that in total local authorities had to pay out over £2.1m in compensation.
‘The government and local authorities repeatedly encourage drivers to leave their cars at home and take to their feet or to two wheels for short journeys,’ said Edmund King, AA president.
‘But the state of the pavements means walkers are expected to run the gauntlet of pavement hazards that are just as dangerous as the potholes that can injure or kill cyclists and damage cars.
‘Pavements are particularly dangerous at night and more so in places where street lights are switched off after midnight to save money.
‘And that over 10,300 claims have been made in 12 months for pavement injuries, confirms that walking can be like negotiating a minefield.’
The AA’s research found the London Borough of Hillingdon had the largest number of successful claims (115 out of 148). These resulted in £346,596 being paid out.
Liverpool City Council had the largest number of unsuccessful claims (448 claims but none successful).
The largest number of claims in total were made to Lancashire County Council. There were 512 claims of which 31 have been successful sharing £119,535. There are a further 311 ‘ongoing’.
Shetland Islands Council was the only local authority that had no claims made against them.
