Two more Liberal Democrat councillors have admitted being taken to court after failing to pay council tax on time.

Sasha Gillard-Loft and Jan Powell admitted this week that they had not made the payments at certain points over the last two years.

The news has sparked criticism from the county's opposition Conservative group and also the TaxPayers' Alliance, who said councillors should be setting an example to others. It comes a week after Launceston councillor Alex Folkes admitted he had also failed to pay his council tax.

Miss Gillard-Loft, representing Launceston South, said she had not gone public previously because she lived with a friend who owned the house. She said he was responsible for paying and she did not believe his finances should be public.

"I shouldn't be listed on the council tax at all," she said.

"Cornwall Council made the assumption we're a couple but I'm not in a relationship with him and never have been.

"When I moved in he rightly declared this as he had previously received the single-person occupancy discount."

Miss Gillard-Loft said bills were paid late from January to March 2010 when her landlord broke his leg and couldn't work. They received a liability order for £171 plus £39 costs in March and paid the demand.

Scott Mann, deputy leader of the Conservative group, said it did not inspire financial confidence in the Lib Dems who wanted to control a billion pound budget if they could not control their own personal finances.

He said: "It's for the public to decide whether it's a big issue. The taxpayer has to have confidence in the people making decisions at County Hall."

Mrs Powell's husband Tony, a Liskeard Town councillor and former leader of Caradon District Council, said he paid their council tax and had no knowledge of any liability order until December 27, 2011, when contacted by Cornwall Council's solicitor.

"Through a combination of an inadvertently cancelled direct debit, a botched standing order and my ill-health, we missed payments in April and June but the arrears were cleared in May and July by double payments," he said. "At no time was there any intention to avoid payment or any question of our ability to pay."

The incident occurred while Mrs Powell, councillor for Liskeard North, was a Conservative. She defected to the Liberal Democrats in June 2011.