A former Watford councillor has not paid back a penny of allowances she claimed while in Florida, it has been revealed.

Sheila Smillie, a Liberal Democrat who represented Central Ward, resigned from Watford Borough Council last August after deciding to extend a family stay in the US state.

The decision triggered a by-election that was won by Liberal Democrat candidate Helen Lynch two months later.

As a councillor, the last meeting Ms Smillie attended was a development control committee hearing on April 22 last year.

No meetings were held in the run-up to the election last May, but Ms Smillie was absent for the annual council meeting held later that month.

She also offered her apologies for a council meeting on July 21 and again five days later for a meeting of the functions committee, on which she sat, before submitting her resignation on August 31.

A council representative confirmed last year that Ms Smillie had received the allowance to which she was entitled until that time.

Mike Jackson, chairman of Watford Labour Party, said it was “intolerable” the former councillor had collected a share of her allowance for the time she was in America before announcing her resignation.

However, Mayor Dorothy Thornhill said it was “unreasonable” and “unfair” to target Ms Smillie as she had not indicated she would stay in Florida and was continuing to complete casework while out of the country.

Ms Smillie later told the Watford Observer she would repay a “portion” of her allowance after the by-election.

In a statement, she said: “I am fully aware of the issues relating to councillors' allowances and always planned that once a by-election had taken place, I would donate a portion of my allowance back to the council to compensate for the three meetings I have missed.”

Further questions about how much she would pay and when went unanswered.

But a Freedom of Information request by the Watford Labour Party last month has discovered no such payments have yet taken place.

Ms Smillie received allowances worth £3,003.73 from April 1 to August 31, attending only one meeting on April 22, the document discloses.

Watford Borough Council will this year pay each of its 36 councillors, who represent 12 wards, a basic annual allowance of £7,209.

This is designed to reflect the time and effort members spend sitting on committees, completing casework for residents and expenses for telephone calls, travel within the town and caring for dependants.

The Watford Observer has contacted Ms Smillie but has not yet received a response.