FIFE Council paid out nearly £370,000 in compensation to child abuse victims in the last decade, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

The sum was paid to those who were abused while being cared for in council-run residential care, such as schools and children’s homes.

The payments, totalling £369,269 were made between October 2005 and December 2008 and related to St Margaret’s House in Elie.

St Margaret’s was run by David Murphy, who was jailed in 2001 for sexually abusing children in his care over a period of 25 years.

Fife Council could not confirm how many individual payments were made, as this information is subject to an exemption under the FoI Act and would contravene the Data Protection Act.