Compensation claims by staff last year have so far cost Waltham Forest council £220,000, it has emerged.

The authority is still counting the cost of litigation, with four cases from a total of 43 still ongoing.

A housing officer was paid £48,000 after contracting Mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, a Freedom of Information disclosure has revealed.

A teacher was awarded £27,000 after a similar action, with the council paying £20,000 in legal costs.

A total of £22,000 was handed to a library worker for injuries caused by falling over a box of books.

Thirteen teachers brought cases for accidents in the work place in 2013.

These included claims for falling from a chair where there was no light, being fallen on to by a child resulting in a broken arm and tripping on a soapy floor.

A member of facilities staff was paid £10,000 for injuring a calf muscle when moving a bin, while a highways officer was paid £7,000 for “noise induced hearing loss”.

Claims successfully fought by council lawyers include one by a teaching assistant who slipped on a piece of fruit and a finance officer who fell over a cover in the town hall.

The council paid out £150,000 in compensation and incurred legal costs of £70,000.

The council is currently awaiting court proceedings after admitting staff could have been exposed to asbestos in a basement room in the town hall in Forest Road.