Nearly £750,000 in compensation has been paid to people who have taken a tumble on Essex's roads and pavements.

Essex County Council currently faces £4.75m in outstanding claims from people injured in trips and falls, on top of the £739,946 it has paid out since 2001.

The figures do not include the legal costs of settling claims.

But a pensioner compensated after injuring himself in a fall has said the council "doesn't learn from its mistakes".

Fred Spurgeon, 71, tore knee ligaments when he tripped on a wobbly kerbstone outside his house in Savill Road, Old Heath, last summer.

Mr Spurgeon, known as Buster, was paid £300 in compensation by the county council.

"I was seriously injured and they had to pay out for me, but the pavement still hasn't been repaired," he said. "It's a hazard, so someone else could fall and get even more money.

"I would prefer it if money was actually spent on repairs rather than compensating people."