COUNCILS in Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch have paid out hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation over the last five years.

Figures published following a freedom of information request showed that BCP Council and its three predecessors had given out £417,850 since 2014.

Almost 700 claims were made to local authorities in the conurbation although only about 10 per cent resulted in pay-outs being awarded.

BCP Council was requested to provide information on the details of individual incidents raised with it and its three now-abolished predecessors but refused to on the grounds that it risked individuals being identified.

Most of the claims made in the last five years related to falls on council-maintained land.

In 2011, a cyclist was awarded £5,000 from Poole council after he suffered leg injuries when he hit an unlit temporary roadworks sign while on his way to work early in the morning four years earlier.

Over the five-year period, 692 claims were made against the councils with about 70 being classed as “successful”, meaning a pay-out was made.

In 2014/15 169 were lodged – the most of any year – with 24 resulting in compensation, totalling almost £170,000, being paid out.

Both the number and success rate of claims has fallen in the last two years.

Less than £100,000 was paid out in compensation over the period with only about five per cent of the more than 250 claims made ending with the council awarding money.

In response to the freedom of information request, the council said it had carried out reviews of its maintenance procedures as a result of a number of the claims which had resulted in it paying compensation.

However, it added that no further action was needed in other instances while records in many cases did not show how the councils responded.