A caretaker at Common Road Infant School in Kirkby has been awarded £3471 in compensation after an attempt at heavy lifting left him with a painful hernia.

43 year old Alan Thomas was lifting a hefty classroom divider in order to polish and clean the floor, but injured himself due to the strain. He underwent surgery and as a result was forced to take two months off work.

It was under the advice of UNISON, Britain’s biggest public sector union, that Mr Thomas pursued his claim, with Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Secretary Cliff Williams saying: “It is only right that Mr Thomas receives compensation for the pain and discomfort that he has suffered”.

Wakefield Council, which is the school’s Local Education Authority, admitted negligence and made an out-of-court settlement. Mr Thomas expressed gladness over his claim’s success and said that “schools should take into account how difficult it is to lift heavy equipment and put measures in place to stop injuries”.