CAMPAIGNERS have called for more to be done to prevent accidents in Oxfordshire after councils in the county shelled out £711,000 in compensation in the past two years.

Almost half the total – £333,000 – was paid out to people who suffered injuries or had their property damaged due to potholes, road or footpath defects, icy pavements or uneven paving.

One person made a claim of £65,734 against Oxfordshire County Council after suffering a brain injury after an incident involving uneven paving.

Oxford Pedestrian Association spokeswoman Sushila Dhall said more needed to be done to make sure pavements around the city were up to scratch.

She said: “I would say the figure paid out reflects the position which footpaths and pavements have in the minds of our representatives that they are not the priority when it comes to maintenance.

“A fall can be the end of an elderly person’s mobility and even the end of their life. “If the county council does not want to pay out sums like that it would help if it was easier to report defects in pavements.”

The Freedom of Information request by campaign group the Taxpayers’ Alliance found the county council, which is the transport authority for Oxfordshire, spent £142,282 on pothole compensation claims in 2013/14 and 2014/15.

Grandmother Mary Sitch from Bladon, near Woodstock, fought for compensation after her car hit a pothole in April 2013 in Lower Road, between the Main Road through Bladon and the A40.

Her claims were turned down by the county council but she said she was not surprised so many people had received payouts.

The 89-year-old said: “How many people like myself have not been paid?

“This is really just the tip of the iceberg and it has got to be addressed.

“If they kept the roads in a better state in the first place they would not have to pay any money out.”

The county council increased its spending on road repair projects in the 2014/15 financial year by more than £6m to try to eradicate potholes and other defects.

Spokesman Paul Smith said: “There is nothing unique or unusual about the county council as regards compensation claims.

“The council and, if appropriate its legal representatives, would assess any claims put in front of us.

“However, we always very robustly defend taxpayer money from claims that we assess to be false and where we clearly have no liability.”

In total the county council paid out £648,753 in compensation over the two-year period whilst Oxford City Council paid £37,150.

Cherwell District Council paid £5,655, West Oxfordshire District Council awarded £9,031 and the Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Councils paid out £5,000 each.

Among the payments made were a £5,825 payment by Oxford City Council after a claimant suffered broken or chipped bones after a slip or trip, and £18,640 paid by the county council after a person suffered a fracture from a footpath defect.

As well as the £65,734 payment made due to brain damage, another £3,781 was paid by the county council after a claim of brain damage following an incident on an icy footway.

Claire Twinn, service manager at brain damage charity Headway Oxfordshire, said such incidents were normally tragic accidents.

She said: “It would be nice if all pavements were repaired, but I do not know if they could be.

“Any knock to the head can have a long-term effect. People need to be aware of that.

Only West Oxfordshire District Council gave full details of the claims made for compensation, with the other authorities providing one- or two-word descriptions of the incidents.

The details released to the Taxpayers’ Alliance included payments made by each council or its insurers, including outstanding estimates.

The organisation’s political director Dia Chakravarty said: “It is good to know where money is going and where it is being paid out there is a transparency point.

“Of the £104m paid out across Great Britain nearly £8m was related to potholes.

“It is about asking ‘could the councils have done better to prevent claims in the first place?’”

West Oxfordshire District Council spokeswoman Sara Long said: “Occasionally, in isolated cases, issues arise where it is appropriate to pay compensation when the council has caused a loss to a third party. This is done in consultation with the council’s insurers and is dealt with on a case-by-case basis if the insurers feel compensation is appropriate.”

PAYMENTS 2013-15

* Oxfordshire County Council: £648,753
* Oxford City Council: £37,150
* West Oxfordshire District Council: £9,031
* Cherwell District Council: £5,655
* South Oxfordshire District Council: £5,000
* Vale of White Horse District Council: £5,000