The cost of paying allowances to elected local councillors has soared to almost £6 million a year.

People elected to town halls across Sussex are pocketing thousands of pounds in public money for attending meetings.

Figures collated by the Is It Fair campaign group, which is calling for sweeping reforms of the allowance system, reveal that the largest pay rises were given to politicians on Horsham District Council and Hastings Borough Council.

Allowance claims at those authorities rose by 39 per cent and 37 per cent respectively.

Councillors receive a basic allowance for attending meetings and can also claim back travel costs and carer's fees, as well as bonuses for taking on extra responsibilities.

Christine Melsom, founder of the Is It Fair campaign group, said some people were earning as much as £50,000 per year by sitting on both district and county councils.

She said: "The problem is it is now becoming a career rather than a public service which people used to feel honoured to do.

"Some councillors do earn their money but for others it's just a nice little earner.

"People in this country have become acclimatised to receive money for everything rather than do it for the greater good. I'm not saying they are corrupt, but the allowances can be a corrupting factor."

Allowances paid to councillors serving in Horsham ranged from £3,358 to the £14,880 which was paid to council leader Elizabeth Kitchen.

Ian Davidson, of Horsham District Council, said the relatively large rise in pay-outs between 2004 and 2006 was due to an adjustment of the basic allowance to bring it in line with that paid to councillors in other areas.

Members of the authority's licencing committee also received extra cash because they faced an increased number of hearings when the new licencing regulations were introduced.

He said: "We won't see that kind of rise again because now the allowances are index-linked. Our independent remuneration panel, which pulls no punches when it looks at allowances. In some cases they have been cut back."

West Sussex County Council footed the biggest bill - £954,981 - for its 70 councillors.

Council leader Henry Smith, who received a special allowance of £25,750 last year, said the bill reflected the council's size.

He said: "The allowances paid reflect the amount of hours and level of responsibility which councillors take on. I personally spend around 50 hours a week on county council business, for instance.

"It's important to remember that the cost of members allowances to the average taxpayer in West Sussex is 2p per year. That's a pretty reasonable price to pay."

Another notable rise across the county occurred at East Sussex Fire and Rescue Authority whose 18 members received a 31 per cent increase in allowances from £19,993 to £26,235.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association - which represents councils - said allowances were necessary to keep democracy alive as they enabled a more representative range of people to stand for election.

He said: "There is already a huge under representation of young people and women among the ranks of councillors and saying that they already get too much in allowances will only reduce the number of people who will be willing, or able, to afford giving up hours of their time to help local people.

"Council allowances are recommended by independent panels that have no connection to councillors.

"The costs of paying for elected councillor allowances represents just 0.001% of what councils spend to help create places where residents can have their voices heard and create places where they can thrive."

What do you think? Are Sussex's councillors worth £6 million a year? Add your comments below.