ALMOST 3,000 referrals were made to bailiffs by Chelmsford Council last year – with city residents owing almost £5million in council tax arrears.

Figures published by the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline, show that 2,698 referrals were made during 2014/15 – down two percent in two years.

The research was conducted as part of National Debtline’s Stop The Knock campaign and follows the release of official figures last month showing that Chelmsford Council ended the 2014/15 year with £4.9 million in unpaid council tax.

The findings rank Chelmsford 215 out of 326 for local authority bailiff use in England and Wales.

In comparison, Basildon Council had 5,544 referrals – up 60 percent in two years, and Maldon District Council had 1,161 referrals – up 79 percent in two years.

Thurrock was Essex’s highest placed council with a huge 12,008 referrals – up 137 percent in two years – and ranked 22nd nationally.

Joanna Elson, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, has urged councils to use bailiffs only asalast resort.

He 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.

“The council’s use of bailiffs, however, remains too high.

“On the front line of debt advice we know that sending the bailiffs in can deepen debt problems, rather than solve them.

“It can also have a severe impact on the wellbeing of people who are often already in a vulnerable situation.”

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

A council spokeswoman said: "Referral to enforcement agents is the last resort and we only use it when all other avenues of collection have failed or aren’t available to us. 

"We prefer to make an arrangement with the debtor or use recovery methods which do not incur additional costs but this is not always possible. 

"We are very pleased with our position in the Money Advice Trust’s rankings given that Chelmsford City Council is ranked 77th  out of those 326 authorities in terms of the amount of Council Tax that it has to collect each year."