Almost £5 million has been paid to people who have tripped up on Sussex pavements in the past five years.

A total 1,556 people have demanded cash for bumps, bruises and broken limbs between 2000 and 2004, figures obtained by The Argus under the Freedom of Information Act show.

The Association of British Insurers said there was a perception of a "compensation culture" in Britain, which could be encouraging people to make fraudulent claims.

A spokesman said: "The statistics bear out a rise in the number of trip and slips over the last few years. It has become a major cost to the public purse and needs to be contained.

"Some people do try it on and fraudulent claims need to be weeded out."

The compensation payments were made by East and West Sussex county councils and Brighton and Hove City Council, which are responsible for streets, footpaths and pavements.

A person who slips in the street and suffers a broken ankle can receive about £3,000 in compensation. An elderly person who breaks a hip in a fall could be paid as much as £25,000.

East Sussex County Council tops the compensation chart, although the figures it supplied include drivers' claims for damage to their vehicles caused by defective roads.

The authority paid £2,096,104 on 676 claims, including £1.3 million for footpath defects.

Tree roots in the street resulted in successful claims totalling £95,543. One claimant who tripped on uneven pavement on May 24, 2003, in Charlestone Road, Eastbourne, successfully claimed £84,365.

The fall, caused by tree roots lifting the tarmac, left the pedestrian with a broken arm and badly broken left leg which may have to be amputated.

But most claims were more trivial. One unobservant householder successfully claimed £58 after walking through soft tar outside his home in South Cliff Avenue, Eastbourne.

In his claim he said he had been walking the tar on to his carpets over a period of ten days in July 2004.

West Sussex County Council paid the smallest amount - £1,189,510 on 571 claims.

Among the largest was £43,961 to a claimant who tripped on the pavement outside a telephone box in North Pallant, Chichester.

Cost to the councils
- East Sussex*: no of claims: 676, cost: £2,096,104 - West Sussex: no of claims: 571, cost: £1,189,510 - Brighton and Hove: no of claims: 309, cost: £1,437,544 - Total no of claims: 1,556, total cost: £4,723,158 *includes vehicle claims