A BRACKNELL resident scooped a £3,000 payout after falling into a pothole in a car park last year.

That was one of two successful compensation claims made against the council related to injuries suffered on public property from April 2019 to March 2020.

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The £3,000 award was the larger sum handed out by Bracknell Forest Council, which subsequently repaired the pothole following the September 2019 incident.

When asked which car park the resident suffered the injury in, BFC did not respond.

The other successful claim made against the council involved an injury sustained at Easthampstead Cemetery and Crematorium in April 2019.

Following a Freedom of Information investigation by the News into compensation claims made by residents, it was revealed the resident asked for compensation having been hurt when a “coffin stopped abruptly.”

The claimant was given £455 in compensation, and following the injury staff at the site arranged a change to the process by which a coffin is moved from the chapel to the actual cremator itself.

According to the Freedom of Information response, a modification to the transfer equipment “totally eliminated the issue which caused the injury.”

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The News asked BFC to explain what happened at the Crematorium by revealing more details about the incident, but the authority failed to respond.

Twelve separate claims were made against the council in the year up to March 2020, all of which were unsuccessful.

In total, the council paid out £3,455 to residents who made successful claims against the authority in the latest financial year.

This is up from the £2,500 handed out in the year up to March 2019, but considerably down from the £30,000 shelled out up to March 2016 and the £32,000 splashed up to March 2015.

Collectively, the council has spent £101,480.29 on compensating injury sufferers from 2014-2020.

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The News asked the council to explain what measures it takes to keep residents safe and what it considers when deciding whether to pay out on a claim, but it did not respond.

Following a similar investigation by the News in 2019, Andrew Hunter, a director at BFC, said: “The safety of our residents is always our foremost priority, and we work constantly to ensure our public spaces, paths and roads are safe.

“We have a dedicated team who continually inspect all council-owned roads and footpaths within the borough to identify defects, and ensure they are dealt with swiftly.”