Personal injury news

Compensation claims likely after pig manure swamps village

Villagers in Germany are preparing to make hefty compensation claims after their homes were flooded by liquid pig manure.

A slurry tank containing the fetid fertiliser burst, sending the stinking mess cascading through the streets of the Bavarian village of Elsa. The ground floors of several homes were flooded and the sewage was reported to be nearly half a metre deep in some areas.

No personal injuries were reported but police estimated that the damage will cost at least 100,000 euros (£68,000) to repair, making it highly likely that many homeowners will seek to make compensation claims against the owner of the tank.

The manure tank was holding 240,000 litres of muck when it burst, sending villagers scurrying in panic as the putrid filth splashed down Elsa's main street, seeping into houses and engulfing cars. A police spokesman said, "The village was swamped with green-brown liquid - the mother of all muck.

"It was not very pleasant for the villagers."