COUNCILLORS voted to give themselves an increase in their allowances yesterday.

Twenty eight councillors on Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council voted to carry a motion to increase the basic allowance of all 59 councillors by 22 per cent to £8,150.

Those in more senior positions, such as the cabinet chairman and deputy chairman, will get a rise of about 50 per cent.

Sixteen councillors voted against the motion and eight abstained.

A number of councillors voiced their concern over the proposal while others said the rise was reasonable in a job where they were expected to be on call 24 hours a day.

Independent Councillor Mike Findley said he could not justify the increase to people he represented.

Labour group member Councillor Dave McCluckie proposed that the extra £70,000 allowance for councillors should be put into health and social services.

But cabinet member Councillor Dave Fitzpatrick said: "If you make the life of councillors difficult, you're not going to attract people with the relevant skills or young people to become councillors."

The main reason given for the rise was the increase in the number of days councillors are expected to spend on business, up from 104 to 116.