Teignbridge councillors could have their allowances cut by at least £260 a year as part of a package of measures to freeze council tax and prevent rises in car parking charges.

The proposal for a five per cent across-the-board reduction was made on Monday by leader Cllr Alan Connett, who has described the forthcoming budget as 'probably the worst' he has had to prepare.

Last November he said readers of this newspaper had made 'a fair point' when they had asked why councillors were not sharing the pain of the tough economic times. All 580 council staff have been invited to consider taking early retirement or redundancy and are facing cuts to their benefits, including the possible scrapping of sick pay for the first three days' absence.

Now Cllr Connett has put the cost of the district's 46 elected members in the spotlight. Last year they shared a total of £370,000 in allowances.

FULL STORY IN OUR ONLINE EDITION