They were intended to keep the people of Norfolk safe during the pandemic.
But a decision to install 'Covid secure' chairs in the county's libraries backfired after they began injuring members of the public.
Norfolk County Council has revealed it has had to throw away almost 170 'wipeable' seats it put in all its libraries during the pandemic, because people kept slipping off them.
The authority had spent £10,000 on the chairs, which are covered in vinyl so can be easily cleaned to stop infections spreading.
Unfortunately, this slippery surface also created a hazard for many library goers, with a number of them sliding onto the floor as they sat down.
In total, 19 injuries were reported to library bosses, prompting health and safety officials to say the chairs had to go.
They have now been replaced by seats with a different design, with the council spending a further £21,000 on 251 new ones. There have been no further slip incidents.
The council said none of those who slid off the chairs had been seriously injured.
The vinyl seats were first bought in 2019, at a cost of £61.50 each, as part of a planned refresh of computer areas in a limited number of the council's libraries.
But after the start of the pandemic, bosses decided to move them into all the county's 47 libraries when they reopened after Covid-enforced closure, because their vinyl seat pads made them easier to disinfect.
A council spokesman said: "We originally purchased the chairs as part of a scheduled refresh of public PCs and seating in 2019 for several libraries.
"As a requirement of post-Covid reopening procedures in 2020, all seating had to have wipeable surfaces for hygiene reasons, so the new chairs were redistributed across all libraries as social distancing regulations meant that fewer PC stations were in use.
"The new chairs had a raised seat pad, covered in vinyl, which could be slippery against some fabrics and materials.
"And if a user did not sit fully back on the chair, or hold the chair as they sat, it was possible for the chair to move away when sat on the front edge.
"This caused occasional slips and incidents.
"Following advice from health and safety colleagues, the library service have removed all chairs of this design and replaced them with a comfortable alternative that was already in use in several libraries, and have since had no recorded incidents."
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