COUNTY councillors have been blasted for putting an extra £1million into a fund to meet compensation claims for trips and falls.

Opposition members of Lancashire County Council's ruling cabinet committee said finance bosses were wrong to put more money into meeting the cost of claims, while cutting the amount of money spent on roads.

They want more money spent on deteriorating highways - which they believe in turn would lead to fewer claims for compensation.

Lancashire County Council now has a fund of £6.5million to meet claims for trips and falls.

David Whipp, a Pendle County Councillor, said: "The condition of roads in all parts of Lancashire is getting worse.

"The amount of money we spend on repairing roads is down by about a third from what it was 10 years ago."

"The county council is putting another million into a compensation fund when it should be spending more on road repairs."

A meeting of the cabinet was told the number of claims for trips and falls had doubled to over 3,000 a year.

Bernard Whittle, a Conservative member of the committee, added: "Every penny spent on insurance is a penny less spent on maintenance."

David O'Toole, another Tory county councillor who was at the meeting, added: "The increase in claims has doubled and I put it down to the fact that there is a desperate need for improvements to our roads, which are deteriorating at a terrible rate."

Spiralling insurance claims costs, many of which have been found to be bogus, is an issue for most councils.

Blackburn with Darwen recently launched a successful programme to reduce the cost of meeting claims by targeting dubious applications for compensation. It was then able to put money set aside for claims back into highways maintenance.

Council officers at Blackburn town hall found that some houses had lodged several claims and compensation hunters often flocked to the same potholes or broken paving stones to make false demands.

Deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, Jim Edney, said: "The reason for asking for the £1million is that information shows the number of claims has doubled."