TOP Southend councillors have each claimed hundreds of pounds in travel expenses over eight months.

John Lamb, Tory deputy leader, has claimed £1,265 mileage allowance, the highest of all.

Other top claimers include Derek Jarvis, councillor responsible for culture, who claimed £832 and education councillor Roger Hadley who claim-ed £503, according to council figures.

In total, almost £7,000 in travel expenses was claimed by Southend councillors for journeys between April and November last year.

Anna Waite, councillor responsible for transport and planning, was listed as having claimed £904, including £152 for travelling outside the borough, but she said these figures were wrong.

She said these were the figures claimed for the whole of the previous financial year, 2008/09, and she has yet to make any claim this financial year.

All four councillors are Tory cabinet members.

They said their mileage claims reflected the extra work they do because of their portfolio responsibilities.

The four party leaders, Tory Nigel Holdcroft, Lib Dem Graham Longley, Labour’s David Norman and independent Martin Terry, each claimed nothing.

Neither did the current mayor, Brian Smith, or Mark Flewitt, councillor responsible for social care.

Out of all 77 councillors, only 29 made claims, ranging from £16 to several hundred pounds.

The figures were revealed by Southend Council at a meeting, after a request by Labour councillor Stephen George who said he was “gobsmacked” by them.

He said: “Between three of them, they have claimed nearly £3,000.

“I’m amazed in the particular climate, they would find it within themselves to claim these amounts of money.

“While they may do more work and have to travel more, they receive an extra £10,000 allowance for this.

“In these hard economic times, they should be setting an example of financial prudence rather than milking the system for all it is worth.”

We only claimed for work we did

JOHN Lamb defended the figures, insisting he frequently represented Southend Council in the town and across the country.

He said: “Because of the job I do, I cover quite a few miles to attend some of the meetings.

“I go to business meetings all over. I’m often in Chelmsford or Cambridge, and I was down in Cornwall the other week.

“I do more mileage than other councillors because I do more work as a cabinet member.

“I do a 40, 50, or 60-hour week on occasions. If you look at some councillors, they don’t even do 20 hours.”

Derek Jarvis said his claims were good value, considering the hours he puts in.

He said: “I work seven days a week as a councillor. I do a massive amount of travelling around the country so the figures don’t surprise me. I have just claimed the travelling costs I made.”

Anna Waite said: “I more or less work full-time. I claim legitimately for meetings I go to, not just for turning up at the council and doing a bit of work.”

She said the £152 claimed last year for travel outside the borough was “a fraction” of what she could have claimed.