Midland pupil awarded £9,000 after slipping on wet gym floor

Sep 11 2011 by Jonny Greatrex, Sunday Mercury

A SCHOOL pupil has been awarded nearly £9,000 compensation after slipping on a wet gym floor in a PE lesson.

The youngster was just one of scores of Midland children handed thousands after being hurt in classroom accidents involving everything from electric drills to golf clubs and trampolines.

In once case a pupil was given £130 when a phone was stolen after it had been confiscated by a teacher who objected to it being used in class.

Figures obtained by the Sunday Mercury under the Freedom of Information Act show that more than £300,000 has been paid out in recent years by just two councils.

The compensation tally across the whole of the Midlands is certain to be much higher.

Matthew Sinclair, director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, a group which campaigns against wasteful public spending, hit out at the compensation costs.

“Having to pay out hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation to children injured at school is an awful waste of money that taxpayers’ expect to see spent on frontline services,” he said.