Absent minded councillors are being chased by their own officials for hundreds of pounds in unpaid council tax.

More than a dozen councillors have been given reminders from their local authorities for late payment of council tax in the past two years.

Several councillors even had to be given second reminders while one councillor was issued with a court summons.

Ten reminders were sent to Brighton and Hove City councillors in 2009/10 and 2010/11 with five secondary reminders sent.

Five Conservative councillors in Adur were given warnings for payments between £140 and £295 in the past two years with two councillors needing second reminders in both years.

In Lewes one Conservative councillor was even issued with a court summons for failing to pay, although the issue was resolved before a court appearance.

The councillor was one of two Lewes councillors who owed £1,723 between them in the two financial years.

A first reminder is issued to council taxpayers who don’t pay on time and gives them seven days to do so.

A secondary reminder is sent out if a taxpayer who has previously received a first reminder fails to pay.

After a second reminder, taxpayers are given a final warning followed by a court summons where they could face three months in prison.

Brighton and Hove City Council refused to tell The Argus which party the offending councillors belong to because they claimed it could lead to their identification.

A spokesman added: “The reason for non-payment was oversight and they were immediately rectified.”

Labour and Co-op group leader in Brighton and Hove Councillor Gill Mitchell said she was surprised by the figure.

She added: “My advice for any councillor, like with anyone else, who is finding it difficult to make their council tax payments is to seek early advice.”

Adur council leader Neil Parkin said he believed that some of the offending councillors were no longer in the role.

He added: “Councillors are only human like everybody else and one hopes that it is because people are genuinely forgetting.

“As leader I do check whether any councillors are in arrears at council tax setting time because they are not allowed to vote if they are and no councillor has been in the last few years.”

Lewes Council leader Tony Nicholson said: “I suppose there may be circumstances which are exceptional where late payment may be justified but as a general principle councillors should set an example and pay promptly.”