Ex-employee at council racks up £3,700 phone bill

An ex-employee of Attleborough Town Council racked up the £3,744 phone bill in 2024

A former employee at a council racked up a £3,744 bill on a taxpayer-funded mobile in less than three months.

Attleborough Town Council said the incident was due to the member of staff not being "au fait" with technology.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the authority declined to specify how the phone had been used and who by.

Sharon Smyth, the clerk at the authority, said: "The ex-employee did not realise what he was doing and it is our fault too for not putting a limit on the phone."

Attleborough Town Council said it agreed to cover half of the phone bill, with the ex-employee expected to pay the rest.

"We felt that, because we had not put a cap on the work mobiles, and this person was not au fait with using modern technology, this would be a fair solution," she added.

Ms Smyth said the amount was spent between January and March in 2024 by the ex-employee.

The figure was revealed at a town council meeting earlier this month.

People in the area raised concerns over taxpayers' money being spent on the phone bill

The decision was met with anger among some taxpayers who demanded the councillor pay the bill in full.

One member of the public told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "This feels like a cover up and some councillors seem to find this funny.

"Personally, I object to having my council tax money being frittered away by somebody."

Richard Allington, a local businessman, said: "If it is the fault of councillors, they should have to split the bill.

"Why should we pay it? It isn't our fault."