COUNTY councillors drove the equivalent of 14 times around the world on official business in just a year, it has emerged.

We can reveal how Kent County Council’s 84 elected representatives racked up an astonishing 355,847 car miles to attend various meetings and fulfill council duties between April 2005 and March 2006.

Their travels by car - an average of about 4,200 for each councillor - cost the taxpayer £142,339 and pumped an estimated 125,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, based on emissions from an average family car.

In contrast, the amount of money councillors claimed for travelling on public transport to official meetings was just £12,234, barely an eleventh of the amount they claimed for car miles.

Last month, the county council backed a 160-page cross-party report on climate change which urged KCC to take a lead in combating the impact of global warning.

At the time, council chiefs said KCC was "ahead on climate change" and that it was "already taking action in many different ways".

And just two weeks ago, councillors voted to back calls for a Climate Change Bill that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

But despite the presence of a mainline train station within yards of County Hall, it seems most prefer to stick to their cars rather than potentially greener forms of transport.

According to the figures, about a quarter of councillors claimed nothing for travelling on public transport between 2005 and 2006; a further 27 claimed less than £100.

Under KCC’s allowances scheme, councillors are allowed to claim 40 pence per mile when they are on duty. The allowance is claimed for travelling to and from their home to attend meetings at County Hall’s Maidstone headquarters and other events, such as public meetings or attending to constituency matters.

Those who live furthest away from County Hall inevitably receive more for their mileage, while members of KCC’s Conservative cabinet - the key decision-making body - also emerge as major car users.

County councillors accept they could do more to improve their green credentials but point out that it is not often practical to do so because of late meetings or because it would take too long to get to some places.

The most environmentally-friendly member of KCC, based on public transport use, was Conservative cabinet member Graham Gibbens, who comes from Canterbury. He claimed £1,824 for public transport against £2,355 in car mileage. He uses public transport whenever he can.

He said: "It is a challenge for everybody in the community to consider how they are going to face up to the issue of climate change. I try to use public transport wherever possible and I genuinely believe it is important people in my position do set an example."

Cllr Mike Eddy, opposition Labour leader, said he tried to car share with colleagues if they were attending the same meeting at County Hall. "We could definitely do better but sometimes the nature of the public transport network we have does make it difficult."

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Trudy echoed: "There is no question we could do better. People constantly travel to the same meetings in different cars, where some planning beforehand might have meant they could car share. There is no way we should be travelling to meetings in London by car, for example."