Local authorities face a multi-billion pound bill from fraudulent personal injury claims, according to ALARM - the national forum for risk management in the public sector.
The risk managers' group has called on local authorities to plough more resources into highway 'hotspots' in a bid to cut the growing cost of fraud.
New ALARM figures estimate that payments to fraudsters could be as high as £1bn - up to 10% of all claim payments. However it warned that the real cost to public services is "several times" this amount.
Alarm North West chairman Barbara Cotton said: "We need to adopt a risk-based, cost-benefit approach to the allocation of front line resources and ensure that we get maximum value through the sharing of good practice.
"That includes sound procedures for the effective rebuttal of frivolous or fraudulent claims, so that only legitimate claims are paid."
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council risk manager Graham Rhodes said: "We all need to work together to increase our success rate in defending our respective authorities against unreasonable claims for highway slips and trips."
