THE leader of the borough's UKIP group has slammed Dudley's council leader for taking what he describes as "unjustified" annual pay rises totalling thousands of pounds.

Figures obtained from the TaxPayers' Alliance show the pay packet of Dudley Council's leader has risen by nearly 15 per cent over the course of two years - while neighbouring authority leaders have seen their salaries frozen or slightly reduced.

In Dudley, the leader's allowance leapt from £20,900 in 2012/13 to £23,999 in 2014/15. In neighbouring Sandwell it has remained at £26,276 and in Birmingham it has been frozen at £50,352 during that time period.

While in Wolverhampton, the leader's pay packet was £25,320 in 2012/13 and 2013/14 - falling to the slightly lower figure of £25,000 in 2014/15.

Dudley's leader - councillor Pete Lowe - says councillors' allowances have only risen in line with public sector pay and remuneration for Dudley's leader is the lowest in the Black Country.

But UKIP group leader on Dudley Council, Wordsley councillor Paul Brothwood, has described the annual salary hikes against a backdrop of austerity as "truly shocking".

He said: "Whilst UKIP councillors have rejected pay rises, the leader of the council gets an unjustified pay hike.

"We have seen services slashed and we are about to see Dudley Museum close.

"The external auditors have made it very clear the council is on the verge of running out of funds, yet the Labour leader has received a massive pay rise. Nobody can morally justify this."

The basic allowance for all councillors in Dudley also rose by 2.2 per cent last year bringing it up to £9,600 from £9,393 in 2013/14 - but all seven UKIP councillors on the council pledged to donate the extra cash (just over £200 each) to the borough's community forums.

Cllr Lowe, who took over from councillor David Sparks as leader in December 2014, said councillors' allowances in Dudley have only risen in line with the recommendations of an independent review and he added: "The review called for significant increases for councillors in Dudley to bring them into line with other metropolitan councillors."

He said it has yet to be decided whether there will be a further increase for councillors this year but he stressed: "It will not go up any more than the pay of the workforce we employ."

Cllr Lowe added that he's "never claimed a penny on expenses since being elected" for mileage and petrol and such, saying: "I've always absorbed that in my salary."

And he took a swipe at UKIP's Bill Etheridge, a councillor in Sedgley and Euro MP for the West Midlands, saying: "I bet he's claimed more expenses in one week than I've claimed in 13 years as a local councillor."

Cllr Etheridge, however, hit back at the claim - saying he donated part of his council members' allowance last December to help buy Christmas lights to be hung in Bilston Street, Sedgley, and he added: "Obviously Pete Lowe does not understand the difference between my role as an MEP and councillor."