A Westwood councillor was summonsed to court after failing to pay over £1,300 of council tax, a freedom of information request has revealed.

Cllr Asha Masih, who was elected in May 2021, fell behind on payments within the past year and was issued a liability order.

The Conservative councillor then paid the amount in full, made up of £1,338.94 of tax owed plus £78.50 in court fees.

Speaking on behalf of the Conservative group, Cllr Gary Ridley said: "Over the last year Cllr Asha Masih has been supporting her husband who sadly has fallen ill.

"As a wife, mother, councillor and key NHS worker she's had a lot to juggle and unfortunately the household accounts have been neglected.

"I understand there are no outstanding council tax liabilities and measures have been put in place to ensure this doesn't happen again."

Information revealed by an FOI request to Coventry City Council, revealed that 14 councillors at the authority had to be reminded to pay council tax in the fiscal years from 2019-22.

A whopping 40 reminder letters were sent – including four final notices – with unpaid council tax bills totalling £10,031.40.

Labour's Cllr Kamran Caan was summonsed over unpaid tax in the 2019-20 year and Cllr Caan had to pay £444.50 but cleared the account before it reached court.

A statement from the council at the time said: "Cllr Kamran Caan would like to clarify that he was not living at the address at the time and as soon as he became aware that there were arrears they were paid in full."

Leader of the council Cllr George Duggins told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "It is incumbent on all councillors no matter what party to ensure they are not behind on council tax."

"It is very simple – get yourself on a direct debit and this situation doesn't need to happen," he added.

He said he plans to meet personally with officers to make sure he knows when Labour members are in arrears with their council tax.

Following the news, Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "This is a kick in the teeth for hard-working taxpayers forced to swallow continuous council tax hikes.

"Residents who play by the rules expect the councillors who represent them to pay their own council tax on time.

"Coventry Council should ensure all elected officials pay their bills when they're due."

Cllr Masih could not be reached for comment.