MORE than £100,000 has been spent by Gwent councils on using ‘mayoral cars’ for civic duties, according to figures revealed in a Freedom of Information request from the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

The figures, which looked at how much councils spent across the UK, include cars for mayors as well as council chairmen and women.

The biggest spenders were Caerphilly - clocking up £28,885 since 2015 - with Newport City Council second highest on £23,049.

Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) over the same period spent £16,098.

MCC leases a Ford Mondeo for use by the chairman when representing the council at civic events, at an annual cost of £3,399.50.

It also leases a number of smaller pool cars which are used by staff such as social workers and engineers who need to travel as part of their jobs.

An MCC spokesman explained that, when not in use by the chairman, the Mondeo can be used by other officers requiring a pool car when there are no smaller vehicles available.

“Leased vehicles provide a cost effective solution for travel in a rural county such as Monmouthshire where public transport is not always a viable option, particularly in the evenings,” he added.