GWYNEDD Council has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation on several curious claims.

Most notably, one claimant last year received £13,400 after washing dishes whilst working for the council left them with “stinging and swollen hands”.

Another bizarre case saw someone receive £9,225 because a fridge fell on them after unsupervised children toppled the kitchen appliance.

The largest payout was a staggering £150,082 after a burst pipe wreaked havoc in a property in 2013/14.

Another six figure sum was awarded that year to a victim suffering from physical and mental abuse who was let down by social services (£107,719).

The biggest claim in 2014/15 was £17,296 after one victim fell into a manhole whilst cutting trees.

In total, the county council paid out £58,175 on claims last year and a whopping £425,203 in 2013/14.

As such, the total sum of the council’s compensation payouts since 2013 has amounted to an eye-opening £483,378.

By comparison, Ceridigion Council spent a meagre £14,306 and Carmarthenshire Council forked out only £58,071 in the same period.

The new research, courtesy of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, revealed the extraordinary statistics.

Commenting on the research, Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ”The compensation culture is costing taxpayers dear and every pound spent on settlements or higher insurance premiums is a pound that isn’t spent on essential services such as road maintenance or social care.

“Of course, some of the payments made by councils will be entirely justified, as the most serious accidents can change lives.

“But in many cases, local authorities and their staff will be failing to live up to the standards required of them by law or paying out on frivolous claims too easily.

“Councils must do everything they can to ensure their mistakes and negligence don’t result in such large bills for hard-pressed taxpayers - and take appropriate action against staff whose actions result in costly claims.

“We must also root out those who are playing the system with spurious demands for taxpayers’ cash.”

A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “The figures provided to the Taxpayers Alliance as a result of their Freedom of Information request, and that have been subsequently quoted in the media, contained all costs relating to the claims (for example, legal costs), and not just the compensation paid to the individuals.”