DEBT collectors were instructed by south Cumbria’s councils 6,226 times to claw back £7.8m pounds worth of council tax arrears in 12 months.

A Freedom of Information request, showed that Barrow Borough Council ended the 2014/15 year with £3.3m in unpaid council tax arrears and sent out bailiffs 4,040 times to collect debts owed by individuals and businesses.

South Lakeland District Council had £2.6m unpaid and requested 934 and Copeland £1.9m with debt collectors instructed 1,252 times.

The findings for local authority bailiff use in England and Wales ranked Barrow at 60 out of 326, SLDC at 297 and Copeland 213 but figures have been reduced compared with the previous year.

Barrow council leader Dave Pidduck said: “We do restrict our use of bailiffs. We continue to say to people if there is a problem tell us. Ignoring it won’t make it go away. If we can help we will help.

“We only ever use bailiffs as a last resort. If you need our help then talk to one of our officers and we can work something out to help.

“Obviously we need to get back unpaid money with councils being squeezed and at this moment in time we don’t know what the government is going to hit us with next.”

Mike Starkie, elected mayor of Copeland, said: “We do work with our residents to identify ways forward when they are facing financial difficulties, which is why we provide information on housing benefit and the council tax reduction scheme, and work with the local Citizens Advice Bureau who provide personal budgeting support and foodbanks.

“Using a bailiff is always a last resort and in some cases where the cost of employing these services out weighs the original amount owed, the council writes off the debt rather than go down the bailiff route.

“The council makes all reasonable efforts to recover monies due from any account with an outstanding balance.

“At billing level, NNDR debt written off in 2014/15 amounted to £419,761 which related entirely to bankruptcy. Council tax debt written off amounted to £34,721.”

No one was available for comment at SLDC.

Joanna Elson, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust said: “Local councils are facing significant funding pressures – and they of course have have a duty to collect what they are owed. In the case of council tax this is crucial in ensuring proper funding for the services that local people rely on.

“Bailiff action is not only harmful to those in arrears – it is also a poor deal for the council taxpayer.

“Our research shows that the councils who use bailiffs the most are actually less effective at collecting council tax arrears.

“That’s why we are urging councillors to consider ways they can continue to improve the council’s debt collection practices, and ensure that bailiffs are only used as an absolute last resort.”