MORE than £11,000 a day is being paid out in compensation to members of the public who are suing Scotland’s cash-strapped councils, figures reveal.

The country’s local authorities were left with a bill of more than £7.2 million after being hit with 20,000 compensation claims over the course of just two financial years.

Most of the cash was paid out to settle personal injury claims, while millions of pounds were paid out to motorists whose vehicles were damaged by potholes.

One council paid out £1.2m alone for claims relating to “slips, trips and falls”, while another was forced to pay out £65,000 to someone who was injured after falling off a kerb.

As well as losing thousands of pounds per day, it was also revealed that members of the public are burying council officials under a mountain of spurious claims.

Stirling Council was forced to defend a claim that it was liable for floral tributes at a graveside being “destroyed by wildlife”.

And East Ayrshire Council successfully defended a claim that it was responsible for a girl “bumping her head” as “adoring female fans” rushed towards X-Factor contestant Nicholas McDonald during the switching on of Kilmarnock’s Christmas lights in 2014.

Details of the compensation bill emerged amid claims that Scotland’s councils face £327m worth of budget cuts over the next 12 months.

And it emerged last week that almost one-quarter of Scotland’s councils are refusing to sign up to the SNP’s budget, claiming it will bring “great hardship” upon those who use local services.

The scale of the financial drain placed on councils by compensation claims has raised fears that a growing “compensation culture” is heaping yet more financial misery upon local authority chiefs.

Scottish Conservative local government spokesman Graham Simpson said: “The eye-watering amount being paid by councils suggests we need to be wary of a compensation culture.

“Of course it’s only fair that those wronged are given the appropriate compensation. However, councils need to look out for the odd case in which people attempt to take advantage of the system by making an outlandish claim. It’s up to the councils to look into each claim thoroughly before coming to a decision on each payout.”

The highest single payout made was by East Ayrshire Council, which was sued for £65,783 for a “broken wrist as a result of falling off the kerb due to inadequate lighting”.

East Dunbartonshire was sued for £46,000 by a cyclist who was injured by a pothole and Highland Council paid out £34,000 to someone who tripped over a drain cover in Easter Ross.

The figures, covering the financial years of 2014-15 and 2015-16, found that Glasgow City Council was sued for the highest amount, with claims totalling £1.53m – including £1.2m for “slips, trips and falls” paid out by the authority.

North Lanarkshire paid out £833,557 and the City of Edinburgh Council paid £706,136. Fife Council paid out about £627,072.

A spokesman for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities said: “Councils take their health and safety requirements very seriously. Compensation claims are dealt with on an individual basis.”