Taxpayers are funding council staff to drive high-end hire cars as part of a £117,000-a-year scheme, an investigation has found.

Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Land Rover and Mitsubishi are among the vehicles which have emerged on Ashford Borough Council's freshly released list of lease cars.

Last month KentOnline looked at the types of vehicles the council allows officers to hire after discovering taxpayers foot a £117,000 annual bill for a fleet of 29 cars and seven pool vans.

Initially, the council refused to release the data claiming it could publicly identify employees, but we formally appealed the decision on public interest grounds.

Now the council has unveiled unseen records showing some workers rent vehicles ranging from a Land Rover Discovery to a Mazda CX5.

The revelation emerged after national campaign group Taxpayers’ Alliance and Cllr Brendan Chilton (Lab) hit out at the scheme last month.

Bu the council argues shelling out an annual average of £3,250 per hire vehicle offers "greater assurances" rather than asking staff to use their own cars.

A statement on the authority’s website says the vehicles are used for recruitment purposes, or helping officers reach planning sites or tenants.

It adds: “As part of their remuneration package, individuals who fill any such roles are provided with the option of either taking part in the lease car scheme or choosing a cash alternative - the amount is the same irrespective of the option taken up.

“If the use of a car is essential to the job role Ashford Borough Council, like many other local organisations, feel it is right to offer some form of remuneration to cover such activities.

“The lease car option has the advantage of offering the council greater assurance that the cars used by its officers to conduct council business are maintained to appropriate standards, insured for business use and are always available.”

Staff can choose their preferred lease car - with senior roles entitled to a larger budget - but must make up extra costs if the price comes above the annual allowance.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance called for a “full investigation”.

“Taxpayers will be shocked to discover their money is being forcibly taken from them, in part, to finance cars for council executives,” he said last month.

“Worse, senior council executives seem to get fancier cars than more junior employees - a sure sign of a broken system that should be investigated thoroughly."