A woman who claimed she broke her leg after falling over a paving block at Colchester Zoo has been paid £7,500 in an out-of-court settlement.

Eileen Broadhead, 57, said she could not walk properly, was scarred, and had to use a stick following the accident at the zoo in 1996.

Mrs Broadhead claimed she was walking near the monkeys in the zoo when her right foot hit the paving block and she fell backwards, trapping the leg beneath her.

She said at Colchester General Hospital it was discovered she had broken her leg in three places and dislocated her ankle.

After being treated, she said she returned home to Wakefield, Yorkshire, where she had to go to hospital because of repeated infections.

At one stage it was thought her lower leg would have to be amputated, and it was almost a year later before the matter was resolved.

After agreeing the out-of-court settlement yesterday (Thursday) - moments before the trial was about to begin - she said: "If the zoo had shown a bit of courtesy it wouldn't have got this far."

She added that no-one at the zoo had asked how she was or if they could help and the only correspondence she had was through solicitors.

But while zoo director Dominique Tropeano confirmed the settlement had been agreed, he said the zoo did not accept liability for the incident and there was no case of negligence.

He said the morning after the incident the family had returned to the zoo to take pictures of the site and threatened to take legal action.

He added because of that, the zoo followed legal advice and had not contacted her.

He said: "Whenever we can, if there's been an accident, we will try to contact people and see how they're getting on."

But it had not happened in this case because of the family's inferences.

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