Hertfordshire County Council has paid out more than £1million compensation to people falling over or tripping on the area’s roads and pavements in the last five years.

In total, the county council has forked out £1,111,835 on slips, trips and falls on roads and potholes covering Watford, Dacorum, Three Rivers and Hertsmere since 2003-4. Typical claims ranged from falling over and breaking glasses to damaging tyres on potholes.

Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst, the Lib Dem representative for Central Watford and Oxhey, said: “The money could be better spent on improving the roads in the first place rather than compensating people who have tripped on them. Certain roads are very bad and nowhere near the standard they should be for the amount of traffic and pedestrians on them.

“I also think there has been gross under-reporting of some situations where people have decided not to bother with a claim because it is such a hassle and very hard to prove. If an elderly person has a minor trip they are less likely to make a claim and won’t necessarily have access to email to lodge a complaint.

“The state of our roads and pavements is a disgrace. This is clearly shown by the numbers applying for compensation. What is needed in Hertfordshire is sensible investment and a review of how we fix our roads and pavements.

“The county council has a responsibility for people's well being but seems to have forgotten that this extends to our safety while going about normal business. I welcome any extra investment in this area that until recently had been neglected by the Tory administration.”

In Watford, there were 108 claims in 2003-4 with 17 paid out at a cost of £103,514.75 but this fell to just £2357.47 in 2007-8 after only six pay-outs from 61 claims. Hertfordshire County Council paid out £210,066 across the five-year period.

By contrast, the number of claims in Hertsmere rose from 125 in 2003-4 to 156 in 2007-8 when there were 62 paid out. The total cost over the five years was £221,028.36.

In Dacorum, the biggest annual total paid was in 2003-4 when 71 cases, from 249 claims, led to £218,462.05 being handed out. This works out at £598.53 per day. This fell to 39 pay-outs in 2007-8 at a cost of £13,723.67. The five-year total paid was £570,303.93.

There were 145 claims in Three Rivers in 2003-4 which resulted in 29 pay-outs for £29,903.98. Despite the number of claims dropping to 96 last year, there were more compensation payments- 32 at a cost of £9183.74. The five-year total paid out came to £110,437.41.

The Watford Observer contacted the council on Monday to ask for a response but has so far not received a response.