CLAIMS for accident compensation are costing Lancashire councils more than £3million a year -- and the figure is rising.

The revelation has prompted MPs to slam the cash culture which has led to a dramatic rise in cases and and increase in fraud.

Lancashire County Council estimates it spends £3million a year paying and defending personal injury claims.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has revealed that from April 1999 to April 2000 a total of 354 claims were made against the authority -- and it cost £167,000 to settle the 109 claims which had been resolved.

A spokesman for the council said many of the cases involved people claiming to have tripped on kerbstones and injured themselves, and in one case someone fell out of a tree and claimed against the council for failing to prune it.

A spokesman for insurance company Zurich Municipal, which insures 400 local authorities said 10 years ago the cost of claims to councils was around £200million per year but is now closer to £1billion.

Janet Anderson, MP for Rossendale and Darwen, said the levels of claims were "getting ridiculous" and added: "Increasingly we live in a compensation culture where somebody else is always to blame.

"Increasingly we are getting huge numbers of claims which are wasting council time and many to the detriment of everyone else."

John Myles, an associate in the personal injury department at Blackburn-based Forbes and Partners estimated at least 90 per cent of the claims he dealt with were genuine. But he said the widespread belief that lots of people are making fraudulent claims or looking for a pavement to fall over was "a myth."

Mr Myles put this down in part to advertising and "claims farmers" who act as middle men and pass details on to solicitors.

And Mike Corrigan, a personal injuries specialist at Farley's solicitors, said: "People are far more aware of their rights and willing to exercise them, and quite rightly.

"A small claim would be about £2,500, but if someone is badly injured and permanently disabled from doing their job, it could be up to six figures."

He said: "For example if an old lady fell and fractured her wrist, she could be looking at £10,000."

He said in the past people might have been "more likely to take it on the chin" fearing they would find themselves saddled with a bill. But he said now many lawyers offered free consultations.

Mr Corrigan said: "I know people who have not claimed after having an injury and are suffering from arthritis years later and in financial difficulties, when they could have had the compensation."

Blackburn with Darwen Council has the equivalent of three and a half full time staff working on claims. A spokesman said claims include tripping over footways, slipping in the street and cars running over potholes. The bigger payouts relate to personal injury rather than damage.

A county council spokesman said: "All claims against the county council are thoroughly investigated and where appropriate, strongly defended. All claims found to be fraudulent are referred to the police for possible prosecution." Roger Vincent, of the Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents, (ROSPA) said slips, trips and falls were the most common types of accidents, with up to half a million people falling over in public places each year.

He said a recent survey showed 77 per cent of people complained about the poor state of pavements.

He said: "Local authorities need to maintain footpaths and roads the best they can within their budgets, and provide lighting so people can see potential hazards more clearly. But individuals themselves also need to take more care."

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "This is appalling news, to be honest. The only people benefiting from this are greedy lawyers. The money spent on compensation would be better spent on frontline services."

Ribble Valley Tory Nigel Evans said: "Its appalling quite frankly. On the one hand the county council needs a rolling programme to repair roads but on the other we seem to be moving to the American culture of litigation for everything."