Britain's burgeoning compensation culture is expected to leave Bradford Council paying a record £2 million in compensation and increased insurance premiums for accidents caused by poorly maintained roads, pavements and lamp posts.

The rocketing cost this year - said to be causing a dramatic drain on the highways budget - compares with just over £1 million last year.

But a report out today also reveals that 60 per cent of the district's street lighting columns are exceeding their 30-year life-span.

And Council officers say funding to replace them is "woefully inadequate" and warn there could be significant liability problems if they collapse and cause injury.

The report adds: "The escalating costs associated with the rise in the number of claims made against the highways authority is dramatically draining revenue funding from the budget that could otherwise be used to improve services."

The Council's environment scrutiny committee will be asked on Wednesday to consider options including a private partnership to get the £1 million which would be needed to replace the street lights over the next ten years.

The report comes only days after ten-year-old Jordan Rawson suffered concussion, cuts and bruises to his head after a vandalised eight-year-old metal lamp post fell on him in Longfield Drive, Dudley Hill.

The report on the beleaguered highways department reveals it also suffered problems with the performance of the private company Atmos, which won an £8 million contract for highways maintenance throughout the district in 2001.

It shows by March this year 1,896 road, pavement or street lighting jobs had not been completed in the time scales agreed in the contract.

An action plan has improved the number of urgent maintenance jobs being carried out and the firm's performance is being monitored until the contract is re-tendered next spring.

Committee chairman Councillor Ghazanfer Khaliq (Lab, Bradford Moor) said: "The report is a matter of concern and we shall be looking at all these aspects."

Executive member for the environment, Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, said: "We are assessing all options including a private finance initiative for dealing with street lighting.

"This is a claim and blame culture and we are obviously now in danger of spending more on insurance than the damages claims."

Scrutiny committee member Councillor Keith Thomson (Ind, Wibsey) said the sheer weight of traffic was causing maintenance problems in roads across the district and Britain.

"They have stretch marks and potholes," he said.

He added that the compensation culture caused councils serious financial problems which in turn hit services.

A spokesman from ATMOS said it had not seen the report and did not want to comment.