Two councillors have defended themselves after figures showed they attended less than half of all full council meetings since the last elections in 2015.

Braintree Council’s mid-term attendance stats show both John O’Reilly-Cicconi, Conservative councillor for Gosfield and Greenstead Green, and Stephanie Paul, Conservative councillor for Bocking North, have attended 44 per cent of full council meetings held since May 2015.

Both have missed ten meetings out of 19 held in this time.

Mrs Paul said that since she was elected her work commitments have increased “significantly”.

She said: “This together with the demands of being a parent myself also with ageing parents with mobility issues have meant that I have not attended as many meetings as I would have wished to.

“It is also the reason I stood down as a parish councillor last year.

“Attendance at meetings however is not the only work of a councillor and I have been able to help a number of constituents with issues that they have raised with me.”

Mr O’Reilly-Cicconi, who stepped down from the council’s Local Plan committee in June, said he kept up to date with the workings of the council.

He said: “I am not out of the loop in any way and I deal with any matters that residents wish me to deal with.”

David Mann, Labour councillor for Bocking North, was one of 12 councillors with a 100 per cent attendance record.

He said he didn’t believe attendance at full council meetings was the best indicator of a councillor’s contribution to the community.

He said: “Councillors can make a positive impact in any number of ways rather than routine turning up to the council chamber. Council meetings are important but don’t tell nearly the whole story.”

Braintree Council said there is no minimum required attendance for councillors and no reasons have to be given for non-attendance. A councillor must attend a meeting every six months unless a leave of absence is granted.