PENDLE Council has been accused of 'wasting money' after paying staff up to five times the going rate for delivering leaflets.

Staff at the council are being offered the chance to earn extra cash by posting the council’s annual recycling calendar through doors.

They are being paid 15p per leaflet before tax, which works out at £150 per 1,000 leaflets.

But Coun Eileen Ansar branded the rate 'disgusting' and said other firms pay between £25 and £50 per 1,000 leaflets.

“When the council is supposed to be in financial crisis and is cutting a number of services I think it is disgusting that they are offering so much for this work.

“It could be done by local youngsters who are out of work or students who would be happy to do it for a lot less.

“Given the money that the council are trying to save this seems to be an outrageous waste of cash.”

Council bosses said that staff had been paid the same rate for the past eight years, and they used their own staff because they were trustworthy.

David Walker, waste services manager, said: “It’s true that council staff distribute our annual recycling calendar to all Pendle households.

"They are paid 15p per leaflet before tax.

"This rate has been the same for the last eight years, with no increase.

“We choose to use our own staff for distribution as they are very reliable.

"They know the area well and using staff gives us control over when the distribution is done – we always ask that it is done quickly and they never let us down.

"Staff deliver the calendars at evenings and weekends on top of their normal duties.

“We have looked into how other councils deliver their recycling calendars.

"Best practice shows that using staff avoids mistakes with the wrong calendars being delivered to homes.”