A HEYSHAM county councillor who champions public transport has admitted claiming over £6,000 in expenses for car usage.

Jean Yates - Lancashire County Council's transport portfolio holder - put in an expenses bill for driving 12,128 miles in her car while on council business

Cllr Yates' claim - based on the authority's highest allowance of 49.9p a mile - is the fourth highest submitted in the last 12 months.

And now Cllr Yates says she will try and travel from her Lancaster home to county hall, Preston, by train more often.

"I do, wherever possible travel by public transport but it isn't always possible," says Cllr Yates.

"There is more we can do as councillors and I think we do need to set a better example."

Cllr Yates has pledged to scrap free parking at county hall and other large departments within the next year to encourage more councillors and staff on to buses and trains.

Away

But the transport portfolio holder, who is in charge of encouraging more people to use public transport, claimed £6,052.23 for 2003/04 - the first year for which claims have been made public.

The authority's 78 councillors were paid a total of £145,828.31 in mileage - the equivalent of 292,241 miles at 49.9p a mile, the highest of its mileage rates. They can claim mileage for any journey to meetings authorised by the county council, including public meetings.

And they can also claim back parking charges, toll fees and overnight garaging if they are away overnight.

* County Hall is just 50 metres from the main entrance of Preston Railway Station - and trains to Lancaster take around 20 minutes with a standard day return ticket costing £5.65.

A single car journey from the centre of Lancaster to County Hall is 25.6 miles - and would cost just over £12.50 in expenses.