COUNCILS are bracing themselves for a winter of discontent that could see a flurry of compensation claims for accidents on icy roads and pavements.

Changes to the laws surrounding public highways mean that, in theory, any accident caused by ice or snow is the responsibility of councils. And town halls will have to justify why roads and footpaths were not gritted.

Lancashire County Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council are already battling a rising tide of compensation claims from people who claim to have suffered slips or trips on badly maintained pavements -- the new ruling means town halls could face the added problem of dealing with claims from those who have slipped on ice.

Lancashire County Council, which is responsible for most East Lancashire roads outside Blackburn and Darwen, has started to inspect its gritting policy to ensure there are no slip-ups during the winter months.

County Hall has also recommended resurfacing some pavements and cycle-ways so they give added grip.

Andy Kay, Blackburn with Darwen Council's executive member for regeneration, said it had already instigated a new gritting programme. "We review all our actions on an annual basis and look at what happened during the previous winter and try to improve on it," he said.

"We don't grit footways though. There are some well used walkways in the town centre that are, but that is all."

A section of the Highways Act provides that: "A highway authority is under a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice."

Blackburn with Darwen Council recently implemented a rigorous programme to investigate all compensation claims fully.

Town hall officers claimed the programme's success meant it was able to divert almost £1million away from compensation cheats back into highway maintenance.