Former UKIP parliamentary and council candidate Martin Costello believes that borough councillors should have to clock in and clock out to justify their allowances.

Last month Mr Costello said that elected member at Swindon Borough Council should fulfill their duties unpaid - only receiving reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses on production of a receipt.

The written answer to his question by council leader David Renard was that expecting councillors to 'work' for free would limit the range of people who would be able to stand for the council, and that as many worked more than 20 hours a week, they were in fact doing so for around the minimum wage. The basic allowance for a borough councillor is £8,384.

In response Mr Costello has written again to the council and said: "You claim that the elected councillors are working more than 20 hours a week which is quite astonishing.

"To ensure the council tax payers of Swindon are getting the best value for money from those who have been elected to serve us, will the Council Leader implement a modern timesheet system so that all 20+ hrs can be accounted for and provide evidence of what has been achieved?"

The question will be put at the public forum beginning the cabinet meeting starting at 6pm tomorrow at Euclid Street