NEARLY £400,000 has been paid out in compensation by Worcestershire's councils since 2013 - with hundreds of people making bizarre claims.

Your Worcester News can reveal how both council workers and members of the public are making ludicrous claims for money, many of which are refused.

It includes one worker who jarred their arm while weeding, a parent who demanded compensation after their child fell through the bars of playground equipment and a brazen pedestrian who slipped on wet leaves.

The data has led to a taxpayers' watchdog hitting out at a "compensation culture".

Many of the successful claims involved driving accidents, including one motorist who got £940 after striking a dodgy parking barrier and another who got £2,099 after a city council vehicle smashed into their parked car.

Worcestershire County Council handed out a total of £206,271 over the two-year period up to April last year, making up the bulk of the payouts.

Bosses at the authority said some claims were related to highways maintenance including cars damaged by potholes, whilst many others involved council vehicles in a smash.

Worcester City Council paid out £23,253 across the two years, including a whopping £5,175 for one accident at a roundabout and £450 to someone who reversed their vehicle into a wrongly-placed bin inside a car park.

But it fought off a host of other requests including one employee who wanted money after tearing ligaments doing manual work, another worker who injured their back whilst trampoline coaching, and a sports centre customer who tripped on a mat.

The county council's claims have fallen considerably, from 100 in the first year of the data to 65 last year.

A county council spokesman said: "As these figures show, the total compensation paid out by the council has fallen considerably from the year 2013/14 to 2014/15.

"The figure has more than halved in this time, which reflects our commitment to providing the best possible services at the greatest value for taxpayers."

During the two-year period nothing was paid out in Wychavon while Malvern Hills District Council handed out £39,297 - most of which was paid to developers who won planning appeals.

Other payouts included one complaint about bin collections which cost taxpayers £100.

Jack Hegarty, the district council's chief executive, said: "Around 99 per cent of the money included in these figures relates to planning appeal costs and not actual compensation claims.

"In terms of compensation in the two financial years concerned we only paid out £350."

Some £58,807 was paid out in the Wyre Forest, £53,211 in Redditch and nothing in Bromsgrove, taking the total across Worcestershire to £380,839.

Nationally £104 million was paid out during the two years, with 42,000 compensation claims made against councils.

Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "This compensation culture is costing taxpayers dear - every pound spent on settlements is a pound that isn't spent on essential services such as roads maintenance or social care.

"Councils must do everything they can to ensure their mistakes and negligence don't result in such large bills for hard-pressed taxpayers."