FLINTSHIRE Council has suspended a number of staff.

It is believed eight housing repair workers have been suspended as part of an investigation into the use of council vehicles.

Council leader councillor Arnold Woolley said: “I have been advised of the neutral act of the suspension of a small number of employees following inquiries originated by me into a small number of reports from concerned members of the public and observations by myself.

“Those have been investigated and I can only compliment the work subsequently done by the management team in this area.

“Beyond that it would be quite improper me for me to comment any further as this is an ongoing investigation with the result one way or the other yet to be discovered.”

The council fitted its fleet of housing repair vans with a satellite tracking system in 2009 which allows bosses to monitor workers as they travel around the county.

The tracking system shows exactly where a van is at any given time, which route the driver has taken to get to their next job, on what streets they are parking while repairs are carried out, and for exactly how long they are there.

Vans are taken home each night by their drivers for security reasons.

The new system was set up to eliminate out-of-hours use of council vehicles by employees. Council bosses remain tight-lipped over the circumstances of the suspensions.

A spokesman for Flintshire Council said: “We can confirm a number of council staff have been suspended without prejudice pending an internal investigation into a number of operational issues.

“It would be inappropriate to comment further.”