Thompsons Solicitors has secured almost £5,000 compensation for a paramedic who suffered a shoulder injury when his motorbike slipped on farm spillage on a Somerset road.

The 47-year-old man was travelling down the A362 in Frome, Somerset, and as he approached the Warminster Road junction, he noticed there was silage - a crop made by farmers - covering several hundred metres of the road.

Unable to stop his motorbike before it hit the debris, his front wheel slipped and he was thrown from the bike landing on his right shoulder and slid down the road.

The UNISON member suffered a sprain to his shoulder meaning he needed three weeks off work and was in pain for weeks longer. It took six months for the injury to heal.

The man said: “It was terrifying to see the silage on the road and know that I was hitting what was effectively an ice rink. Before I knew it I was skidding along the ground.

“While I appreciate farming is a demanding and tiring job, it’s not good enough to let debris build up around farms because it’s simply so dangerous.”

Dimuna Gething, of Thompsons Solicitors, said: “Road traffic accidents like this are completely avoidable but still happen far too often.

“On this occasion we could offer expert advice to ensure that an important public servant was properly medically examined to check he was ok to work long-term and was compensated for a hugely frightening experience. However, the independent advice we could give is under threat by the government working in cahoots with the insurers to threaten legal advice for those with road accident claims with a value of less than £5,000.

“Working with UNISON, we made sure that those responsible were held to account and our client was compensated. The government seems to think that clients like this busy paramedic have the time and confidence to take on the insurers on their own in future.”