A LEADING council officer is to receive a pay rise of up to 32.5 per cent.

The pay increase for Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council chief executive Colin Moore could see his annual salary rise from about £83,000 to about £110,0000.

He was awarded a pay increase at a recent cabinet meeting that was held behind closed doors.

Figures will not be released until September, but various reports put the increase at between 25 and 32.5 per cent.

However, Mr Moore will remain the lowest paid of leading council officers in the Teesside and east Cleveland area.

The corresponding Hartlepool post was advertised at £140,000 earlier this year - up from between £100,000 and £110,000 last year. The post has been filled by Paul Walker, who starts work in August.

The Middlesbrough post was understood to be about £135,000 in November, up from £125,000. The post was filled by former Hartlepool officer Brian Dinsdale.

George Carlick at Stockton was previously the highest paid chief executive and still earns £122,541, up from £113,000 last year.

Glyn Nightingale, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's lead councillor for corporate resources, said the authority had to provide salaries comparable with other councils in order to keep key staff.

Unison branch secretary John McCormack said he would wait to see the published figures before commenting.