Croydon Council employees have been paid more than £4 million for calling in sick since the start of 2016.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Croydon Guardian revealed that in less than three years, people employed by the council have taken a cumulative 46,683 sick days.

But that same FOI revealed that stress was a big factor in those days off.

Of those, stress was a factor in more than one in five sickies and the council paid out slightly more than £845,000 in that same time frame because of that.

A council spokesman said: “Croydon Council has more than 3,500 members of staff, who can access all kinds of support to stay happy and healthy from flexible working arrangements to lunchtime keep-fit classes.

"The council provides an employee assistance programme offering counselling and practical support for staff with work or personal difficulties.

"It can also access specialist advice from occupational health professionals to support any member of staff to return to work from a period of absence.”