DJ wins payout over BBC RL stunt injuries

A former BBC Radio Leeds DJ has been awarded compensation by the Corporation after he was hurt during a stunt for Children in Need.

Alex Belfield, 31, says he spent time in hospital and suffered cuts and bruises when he was rugby tackled by two players with Bradford Bulls during a live broadcast.

The former mid-morning presenter claims he was not pre-warned about the rugby tackle and had previously made it clear to station managers that he did not want to take part in anything involving “nudity, sport or pain”.

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Earlier this year, Belfield wrote on Facebook that the stunt last November was “hugely dangerous” and the person who had organised it had not considered that he was holding a microphone and other radio equipment at the time.

He accused the BBC of a “lack of care” which amounted to bullying.

Belfield said that both his hands were bleeding after the tackle and he later suffered back pain. He claimed the incident was the “final straw” which led him to leave the station in March.

He instructed a lawyer to file a personal injury claim against the BBC and this has now been settled out of court.

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The BBC has paid him compensation and legal costs. The total sum paid is believed to be less than £2,500.

Belfield declined to comment to the Yorkshire Post but he wrote on Facebook that he felt “totally vindicated following a significant financial settlement...”

He added: “This is compensation over the disgusting treatment I experienced during Children in Need last November which landed me in hospital.”

A BBC spokesman said: “We can confirm that a small sum has been paid to former BBC Radio Leeds presenter Alex Belfield in respect of a small injury claim under the BBC’s insurance arrangements.”

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Belfield hit the headlines in December when he was suspended for a day by Radio Leeds bosses after he made “totally inappropriate” on-air remarks to weather presenter Keeley Donovan.

He left Radio Leeds in March after 10 months in the job, saying he “simply wasn’t up to the job” as he wasn’t the “sensible journalist” that station bosses wanted.