TAXPAYERS are shelling out almost £1,400 a week to people injured by damaged pavements.

Oxfordshire County Council has paid £393,049 compensation since 2004, new figures reveal, as pedestrians last night criticised the state of the county’s footpaths.

Last year the council spent £600,000 less on repairing pavements than most other British authorities.

Two thirds of county councils in England have revealed their figures on pavement expenditure and compensation for the past five years following a Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats.

Last night, the county council called the figures “statistically invalid”. It spent £2m mending cracked or uneven pavements last year. The average was £2.6m.

Its compensation figure was below the national average of £569,761.

The county council received 88 claims for compensation in 2008-09 – below the national average of 130.

People injured by trips claimed if pavements were improved, less compensation would be needed.

Michael Rawlings, of Sawpit Road, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, said his wife Monica tripped in Cowley in 2005 leaving her face “all smashed up”.

The 74-year-old said: “Surely people wouldn’t have tripped over if the council had done their job properly in the first place. It’s a lot of money they have spent on compensation. I’m not saying the people don’t deserve it, but it’s the fault of the council.

“They should repair all the problem areas instead of repairing little bits here and there.”

Oxford Pedestrians’ Association spokesman Corinne Grimley-Evans said: “There are bad spots around the city, but some are very bad, like Hythe Bridge Street and around the station.

“Oxford suffers from narrow pavements which are poorly kept. Some of the recent repair work has been very shoddy. It seems very simple to me – the county council should invest more in pavements if it doesn’t want to keep facing legal bills.”

Cutteslowe resident Hugh Jaeger, 44, the county’s representative for the British Motorcyclists Federation and Bus Users UK, last night said he was not surprised by the figures and claimed more people would be injured unless more was spent on repairing pavements.

He said: “It shows the council is not as committed to improving pavements as it claims to be.

“In the past I have reported bad-quality pavements in many areas across Oxford, but nothing has been done because they have not been deemed as serious enough problems.

“Poor quality pavements are a menace to pedestrians, but especially elderly and disabled people.

“More and more people will get injured, which is going to cost the taxpayer thousands of pounds in compensation claims.”

County council spokesman Paul Smith said: “Oxfordshire is one of the smaller counties and it is also the most rural county in the South East.

“It therefore has far fewer pavements to maintain than many other county councils. It is entirely logical that Oxfordshire would be below any national expenditure average.”

County Lib Dem leader Zoe Patrick said her party had proposed £500,000 more for road and pavement maintenance and the reinstatement of the weed control, costing £95,000, in its alternative budget for 2009-10.

She said: “This is not just about the cost to the council, it’s the cost to people and it’s a cost on the NHS. For elderly people especially it can damage their confidence and mobility.”

Call Emily Allen on 01865 425423 to report the county’s worst pavements