Potty rules mean author could be sued... for paper cuts

6:44pm Thursday 22nd February 2007

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THE author of a book honouring First World War soldiers has been told he needs £5m worth of insurance to sell them on council premises.

The cover Mark Sutton needs is to protect against people dropping books on their feet or getting a paper cut and then suing the council.

He says the council's demand goes against everything the men in the book, Tell Them Of Us, stood for.

The work went on sale in Swindon in October but it has now been taken off the shelves of the Tourist Information Centre ahead of the new rule coming in on April 1.

Mark, 44, of Drove Road, said: "It's crazy. I refuse to get the insurance. I'm not going to bow down to it. It's against the principles of what I wrote the book for.

"It's just another one of these silly Health and Safety measures and it has gone potty."

The Tourist Information Centre had already sold 1,000 of the books but when Mark's wife Theresa rang to see how many more they wanted, she was given the news.

"I laughed because I thought they were joking," she said.

"The Tourist Informa-tion Centre has been more than helpful to us. It's not them, it's the council."

Mark's book, which he spent three years researching, is available at Waterstone's and he still has 2,000 copies to sell.

"I didn't write the book for money," he said.

"It's for the memory of the men who died and gave everything for us. I wonder what they would think if they were here to see their names couldn't be preserved just because people want to be greedy."

Swindon Council spokeswoman Victoria Tagg said the insurance was necessary to protect against potential claims.

"All suppliers of services and products to Swindon Council must have public liability insurance," she said. "This is standard insurance industry and local authority practice.

"The cover we require is normally for £5m but we are prepared to reduce this to £2m for some smaller suppliers, and have done so on many occasions.

"The high number of claims made against organisations and individuals these days means that no-one offering products or services for sale, no matter how minor, can afford to be without public liability insurance. Premiums are usually based on turnover and the level of risk, and can be as little as £150.

"Most businesses and self-employed people already have cover in force. For individuals working from home, some house insurers may be prepared to extend the house insurance policy for a slight additional premium, but this will vary from insurer to insurer."