A Sunday league footballer who was seriously injured because of faulty football boots has won a four-figure payout.

Mike Ellis, 46, was injured whilst playing in a veterans’ game. He was wearing a pair of Adidas Predator Pulse boots, which cost £120. During the game, one of the studs on his boots snapped and Mr Ellis was left in agony after he twisted his leg and ruptured his Achilles tendon.

Mr Ellis had his leg in a splint for 12 months after the accident and then had to have intensive physiotherapy.

Certain that there was something wrong with the boots, Mr Ellis sent them back to Adidas. The company’s response was to offer him a new pair and £50 in compensation. Mr Ellis felt that the offer was inadequate given the pain and suffering which the boots had caused him and he instructed solicitors to pursue a claim for compensation.

Adidas subsequently accepted that the boots had been faulty and offered Mr Ellis an out of court settlement of an undisclosed four-figure sum as compensation for his injury.

Mr Ellis had played football for many years and was convinced of the rightness of his claim. His case demonstrates that, in such circumstances, taking legal advice can help to achieve a compensation award that is commensurate with the pain and suffering experienced.