A leading Cornwall councillor has apologised after admitting he had been served with three court orders for non-payment of council tax.

Liberal Democrat Alex Folkes conceded two weeks ago that he had been chased through the courts twice for failing to pay his own authority.

The total owed in 2010, including costs, was £793.62. It was the second year running that he was brought before the court over unpaid council tax.

It emerged yesterday that Mr Folkes, who represents Launceston Central, had in fact received three summons over the two years.

Mr Folkes said he had forgotten about the third case. "I apologise if anyone was misled," he said yesterday. "It was inadvertent."

He declined to elaborate further, referring to the internet blog – titled "mea culpa" – he wrote two weeks ago.

"My excuse, such as it is, is that since I was elected in 2009 I have lived for the most part on my councillor allowance of £12,100 per year and I put other bills before council tax," he said in the blog.

"But it is wrong to fall behind and I apologise to the people who I represent for letting them down in this way. I can assure anyone who cares that I have paid my full council tax for the current year and won't fall behind again.

"What this episode has done, however, is shown me how many people have difficulty paying their council tax.

"For some (like me) it is a foolish mistake. For others though, the bills are just too much to cope with in the current climate."

It was revealed last summer how 17 Cornwall members had received warnings from the authority over non-payment of council tax. The council has refused to name those involved.

However, it was confirmed yesterday that Truro Lib-Dem councillor Chris Pascoe was among four, with Mr Folkes, Launceston South's Sasha Gillard-Loft and Liskeard North's Jan Powell, to have had problems with paying their bill.

Mr Pascoe, who represents Threemilestone and Gloweth, said problems regarding the payment of council tax began after the death of his father in July 2010.

He said: "I've been in turmoil ever since. It came as a shock financially and obviously emotionally. That was the reason for getting behind with the payment of council tax. At the time it was chaotic.

"I knew I was behind but was making payments to keep up. I didn't know about the court order until recently."

Mr Pascoe, who is a self-employed electrician, said he has now paid all outstanding bills. He added: "You struggle as much as the next person with financial problems."

The four have been criticised by the Conservative group at county hall and also the TaxPayers' Alliance, who said councillors should be setting an example to others.