Who is responsible

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I hired a contractor to paint a fence at my property (a terrace house). He did a good job but my next door neighbour complained that he damaged her property in the process e.g. paint on patio, paint on wheelie bin, paint on a couple of her kid's dresses. I wasn't at the property when the work was done. When I called the contractor to let him know that it has been alleged he caused damage to my neighbour's property, he said he offered to put right the damage when he was at the property but the neighbour won't let him. My neighbour told me she wants compensation. My question is who can she claim compensation from? I paid the contractor cash and on the receipt I gave to him I explicitly wrote that he should be careful not to spray paint into neighbours' spaces. Can she really claim compensation from me?

Thanks for your comments/feedback.

E