Falling off donkeys, walking into noticeboards and getting friction burns from slides are just some of the things people have tried to get compensation for from Greater Lincolnshire councils over the past five years.
A Freedom Of Information request to all the district councils, Lincolnshire County Council and North and North East Lincolnshire councils asked for details of both successful and unsuccessful claims.
The figures reveal Greater Lincolnshire councils have paid at least £263,246.89, however, not all authorities could give all their figures so the final tally is likely to be higher.
East Lindsey District Council was the district with the most claims with 52 incidents reported, however, 18 of those claims were not ELDC’s responsibility.
One person reportedly injured themselves falling off a donkey. Photo: creativecommons.org/Jeffrey Beall
Claims to the authority included a person falling off a donkey, one running into an information board frame, another hitting their head on an ashtray attached to a wall and another tripping on a barrier on the beach.
Its biggest claim over the past five years was for £14,202 for an injury caused after a fall in a car park.
A spokesman for ELDC said: “The amount of public open space owned by East Lindsey District Council is far greater than any other Council in Lincolnshire. As a result, it could be expected that we might receive more claims.
Having said that, we do sometimes receive claims inadvertently where people believe we are responsible for a piece of land.
Of those that responded, the highest successful claim was from North Kesteven District Council who paid out £32,414 for a slip/trip or fall claim.
In total the authority paid out £63,671 to five successful claimants, however, successfully fought off 19 claims totalling more than £187,202.
A total of 24 claims were made to the authority including an injury from a dog bite, a person being struck by a sign in high winds and one not following safe systems of work.
North Kesteven District Council paid out the most in a single compensation claim.
Meanwhile, in the county’s capital someone unsuccessfully tried to claim compensation from the City of Lincoln Council for slipping on bird droppings.
The authority has had to pay out more than £21,000 in compensation, with all of its claims from the past five years taking place in 2014/15.
The most successfully claimed for was £10,128.96 from a fall in a skatepark, while another managed to claim £8,447.99 for cutting their knee on glass.
Other claims included a low-sited sign and a banister giving way (successful), trips on drain covers, falls at home and falls on paving slabs (unsuccessful).
Boston Borough Council has dealt with 16 claims over the past five years. The most it has paid out in that time was £21,060 for a slip, but claims have also included trips and falls – one claim currently open is for a trip over a loose paving slab with the complainant wanting up to £20,000.
Two people in Boston are trying to claim compensation for friction burns gained from slides.
Two others from last year, still open, are for friction burns from slides with the complainants asking for figures of both £2,050 and up to £10,000.
South Kesteven has dealt with 28 claims against it in the past five years with the most paid being £32,205 for a trip. In total it has paid out £146,247.89, but has managed to fight off £332,968 of claims.
West Lindsey District Council has had just one claim over the past five years which was successful in 2016/17 and saw the authority pay out £8,045 for noise induced hearing loss.
Of the three bigger authorities, North East Lincolnshire Council was the only one to return information.
It has had 263 claims made against it over the past five years, however, just seven of those were successful. The most the authority paid out was £10,000 in 2015 – though the claimant had asked for £100,000.
Lincolnshire County Council and North Lincolnshire both refused to answer the FOI claiming that fetching the information would exceed both time limits and cost limits. It is unclear if this is because of a high number of claims or the level of detail within.
South Holland District Council is yet to respond to the request.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told the nation that “we cannot delude ourselves COVID has gone away,” as scientists predicted another wave of coronavirus “at some stage”.
Mr Johnson said there was “nothing in the data” to suggest the government would have to deviate from its roadmap of relaxing restrictions in the next few weeks, and praised the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine so far.
He told a press conference on Tuesday: “The majority of scientific opinion in this country is still firmly of the view that there will be another wave of COVID at some stage this year. And so we must, as far as possible, learn to live with this disease as we live with other diseases.”
He indicated this could include bolstering defences with booster jabs.
He also announced the launch of a new Antivirals Taskforce which would be searching for “the most promising new medicines” and supporting their development.
The aim is to ensure any new treatments will be ready as early as Autumn.
“This means, for example, that if you test positive, there might be a tablet you could take at home to stop the virus in its tracks, and significantly reduce the chance of infection turning into more severe disease,” he said.
“By focusing on these new antivirals, we hope to lengthen the UK’s lead in medicines and in life sciences, and to give ever greater confidence to the people of this country that we continue on our path towards freedom.”
He said the recent reopening of pubs and hairdressers had been a “big step” and “has brought the first glimmerings of a return to normality”.
“Science is helping us to get back towards normality and I believe that antiviral treatments can play an important part. […] keep each other safe and see through our roadmap to reclaim our lives in full.”
Get ready for a week of thrilling rides and games when Lincoln’s funfair returns to the South Common for a COVID-19 secure event next month.
The bi-annual event was due to take place in September last year, but was shut down by City of Lincoln Council due to a rise in the number of local coronavirus cases at the time.
Organisers said Lincoln Fun Fair will be able to make a comeback between Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 22 now that coronavirus lockdown restrictions are starting to be eased more across the country.
The fair will be open between 6pm and 10pm on weekdays and 2pm-10pm on Saturday, but it will be closed on Sunday.
Entry is priced at £1 and there is free parking on site.
As well as family favourites such as the Twister, Waltzer and Dodgems, The Bomber will return along with the Matterhorn and Miami rides.
The Bomber has rotating cars upside down that people are strapped into and it spins round at great speed, taking you around 120 feet up in the air.
In addition to the adult and children’s rides, there will be games stalls and refreshments, including traditional fairground favourites such as hot dogs, burgers and candy floss, as well as dirty fries, ice cream and sweets.
The fair is run under the banner box the Showman’s Guild and one of the organisers Ashley Wood told The Lincolnite: “We are looking forward to coming back again.
“We have historical ties with the city of Lincoln. My family have run rides and stalls on the South Common for generations, including my great grandfather at the cattle market on Monks Road where the fair was originally.”
Dozens of people in the Sikh community received their coronavirus vaccinations at the temple known as Guru Nanak Gurudwara in Scunthorpe on Sunday.
The temple is open for socially distanced prayers, but now also has a pop-up clinic, which community leaders say embodies Sikhism’s key principles of equality and service to humanity.
This comes at a time when celebrations are restricted for Vaisakhi, which is a historical and religious festival.
There have been some fears about the vaccine take up among certain ethnic minority groups, but community efforts like this can make a big difference.
Dr Satpal Shekhawat told BBC Look North: “COVID does not discriminate and we won’t overcome this illness until we all get vaccinated, until we all work together, so we want to bring forward the communities which have not had the highest vaccination levels and that’s why this is an important step for us.”
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