Electric shock, a knocked-out tooth and a trapped finger- Sandwell Council's compensation bill revealed

The payouts, which also include a worker falling on hot Tarmac and another tripping over a traffic cone, total almost £300,000.

The biggest payout during the three-year period was £228,616 to a worker who was exposed to asbestos during their job.

The council, which needs to save £38 million by 2018, also approved for claims for employees who had slipped on ice and water or been hit by a door.

A total of £287,067 was paid out between January 2012 and December 2014, a Freedom of Information request revealed.

During the three years, the council paid £3,250 to the worker who tripped over a traffic cone, £2,800 to the person who fell on hot Tarmac, £2,000 to an employee who fractured their arm when a shutter fell on it and £1,250 to a member of staff who was given an electric shock.

Other claims approved included £1,250 to the member of staff who lost their tooth in an accident, £1,000 to someone who suffered bruising after being hit by a door and £300 to a worker whose ring was caught in a door.

Councillor Philip Garrett, the authority's sole UKIP member, said: "That is certainly a big figure. I am not a massive fan of the idea someone trips on a slab so they seek to claim compensation.

"I am not wired that way. I would just get on with it.

"But the payout for the worker exposed to asbestos has skewed the figure heavily and I know personally the pain asbestos can cause to a family."

It comes after £2.7 million was paid out to members of the public by the council in compensation and legal fees for personal injury claims as a result of accidents on highways in the borough.

The cash was spent settling claims between 2012 and 2014.

When the figures were released in April, deputy council leader Steve Eling said there was a general increase in the number of personal injury claims across the country and it was 'inevitable' that the council would also see a rise in claims.