MORE than 40 serving councillors across Scotland have been sent letters demanding they pay their council tax.

The elected officials were left red-faced after falling thousands of pounds behind in payments.

Figures from a freedom of information request revealed 41 councillors from across 32 local authorities received letters reminding them to pay last year’s bills.

It also emerged four councillors from Highland Council were sent further demands threatening court action if they did not pay up.

The rogue politicians included two SNP councillors, one for the Highland Alliance and one independent member. The SNP councillors owed £1,162 and £536, the Highland Alliance member owed £206 while the independent was £2,072.23 in arrears.

Figures showed nine Glasgow City Council councillors received reminders and seven Fife councillors were sent letters.

Other authorities with offending councillors included Orkney, Angus, Aberdeen City, South Lanarkshire, East Lothian, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

However, 17 councils, including Edinburgh, Stirling and Dundee, saw all councillors pay up on time.

Eben Wilson, director of Taxpayer Scotland, said: “Any councillor who has the means to pay but gets behind deserves to be thrown out of their post.

“Indolence, incompetence or dubious indifference is no excuse”

Last year it was revealed councils across Scotland were owed nearly £100m in unpaid council tax for 2014/15.