Liability insurance news - Picnic in public liability pickle

A man who tried to organise a community picnic in the Devon town of Totnes has spoken of his frustration at being asked to ensure he had liability insurance to cover against the event of something going wrong.

He told the Daily Mail, 'It just seems ludicrous in a public field that's fenced off. We're not having a barbecue or music.

"It might be different if we were having fire juggling or bear baiting, but this is just a picnic. The worst that can happen is somebody's going to choke on a chicken bone or get stung by a wasp."

However, the 63-year-old found himself facing confusion after having his request for a liability insurance quote turned down by an insurance company on the grounds that his picnic did not carry sufficient risk. "They couldn't understand why people would want to insure a picnic," he said.

Fortunately though, the picnic has now gone ahead, but not before the organiser had to cede to the council's wishes and fork out £70 to pay for public liability insurance cover.