PEDESTRIANS who were injured after tripping in a newly-pedestrianised Stratford street in the summer have not received compensation yet because Stratford District Council has been dragging its feet, claims a ward member.

Councillor Peter Moorse said the council had taken too long to speak to its insurers over claims it received after several tourists and residents were sent flying over hard-to-see kerbs in Henley Street just days after pedestrianisation work finished.

The delay was causing more distress to the street's victims, said coun Moorse, especially as many of those making claims were elderly and reluctant to claim in the first place.

Several people were left with cuts, bruises, bloody noses and even broken limbs following the opening of the £220,000 pedestrianisation of the street in July.

After a string of claims were made - the district council will not reveal how many - the council decided to remedy the problem by carrying out £10,000-worth of changes, including filling in the loading bays where the kerbs were tricky to see, which led to most of the falls.

Coun Moorse pointed to the examples set after the autumn storms, which saw insurance assessors head out almost immediately to homes stricken by floods to get the claim ball rolling.

"The council has its next meeting with the insurers in mid-January, which is almost six months after the accidents first happened and that its just too long."

"The majority of those who suffered injury were elderly and they are having to endure more stress as this continues."

One of coun Moorse's ward members, an elderly lady who does not want to be named, fell over in August, being left with a broken arm.

"Her case has made me see that this cannot drag on any more," he said. "She, like many of those who were injured, was reluctant to make a claim and the longer this goes on, the more likely she is to throw in the towel, and that would be wrong."

Stratford District Council press officer Mark Lepowski said the council was not dragging its heels.

He said every claim received was passed to the insurers within 24 hours, but the calculations for compensation were complicated because Warwickshire County Council and the scheme's designers could also be liable.