AS five senior officers of Kennet District Council were being handed their redundancy notices, chief executive Mark Boden was getting a 20 per cent pay rise, it has emerged.

Mr Boden's increase in salary understood to be from £75,000 to about £90,000 was approved by the council's human resources committee meeting in confidential session on March 27.

It was confirmed at the council's full meeting on April 22, incredibly without the councillors knowing any figures and the extent of the increase involved.

The extent of the increase has since come as a shock to rank and file councillors. It comes as Kennet council tax payers face an 14.5 per cent rise in their bills and redundancies were made as part of £1.2 million budget cuts.

Coun Bill Cavill, the Liberal Democrat member for Marlborough East, said: "I didn't know the amount and I am staggered by it. It doesn't seem equitable at all.

"They ought to have applied the same criteria as they did for the rest of the staff, who have had much smaller increases this year."

However, Chris Humphries, the leader of the ruling Conservative group on the council, defended the rise. He said: "I instigated it because the man has been in office for three and a half years without a pay review.

"If you pay peanuts you get monkeys and we need to keep our chief executive, who has shown a great deal of skill during a very difficult period for the council."

A statement issued by Mr Boden's office said: "The councillors were conscious of the going rate for chief executives in the local government labour market and were concerned that the reward package for the chief executive was out of line."

Some recent advertisements for district council chief executive posts quoted salaries of £87,000 at South Kesteven, in Lincolnshire; £90,000 for North Norfolk and £120,000 in Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire.

More locally, Swindon Borough Council has offered a salary of £125,000.