MEDWAY councillors have been told to hand back a freebie worth thousands of pounds.

Bus company Arriva made a gift of more than 150 travel passes to Medway Council so members could find out about the local services. It was worth at least £180.

But the council’s audit committee didn’t take kindly to the perk because Arriva is a major contractor for the council.

They demanded an internal investigation and the next day every councillor was ordered to hand them in.

Arriva’s commercial director Kevin Hawkins said: “It wasn’t a free gift – it was to experience the issues.”

The council was unable to say how many councillors had returned their tickets as we went to press.