THREE scaffolders and their employer were left with a £9,000 bill after claiming a 1mph road shunt injured them and damaged their lorry.

Bosses from Athertonbased S&S Scaffolding claimed a flatbed lorry sustained £300 of damage when a Wigan Council bin wagon hit it in Tyldesley in 2008.

They also claimed the firm lost £6,130 earnings while the lorry was off the road.

And staff James Stubbs, of Henley Grove, Daubhill, and Thomas and Gareth Gemmell, both of Hinkler Avenue, Great Lever, each claimed the rear shunt left them with whiplash injuries.

The three men asked for a combined £3,700 to compensate them for their injuries.

But Judge Joanne Shaw at Bolton County Court stunned the claimants by throwing out the claim at a hearing and ordered them to pay £9,332 to the council, to pay for its legal costs. A Wigan Council spokesman said: “In total, the council faced a legal bill of more than £70,000 and while the authority accepted blame for the collision, it refused to accept the injury claims, claims for damage to the vehicle and the legal costs.

“Judge Shaw ruled the accident had not given rise to any injuries or to significant damage. She also dismissed a legal bill of more than £50,000.”

Wigan Council’s corporate services director Paul McKevitt added: “It’s particularly disappointing, as this company has done work for the council in the past, and grossly exaggerated claims such as this are damaging to trust and future working relationships.

“The facts just didn’t stack up and, by putting a coherent and persuasive defence before the court, we saved the council taxpayers of this borough more than £70,000 of public money.”

An S&S Scaffolding spokesman said: “The three lads involved aren't based here. They just come to collect their stuff in the mornings and go out on jobs.”