It spent £14,534 on flights and £46,993 on costs such as hotels and meals in 2007/08 –– making the authority one of the biggest spenders of councils across the country on visits abroad and in the UK.

The most expensive trip paid for by the county council was one to Belgium for two officers, two councillors and one client –– which cost £2,458.85 in total.

On the visit, the party spent £223 each on rooms for two nights at a hotel in Brussels, while finding out about European funding for an anti-crime initiative.

Countries visited by council representatives during the year included Spain, the US, Finland, Germany, Nigeria, Poland, Latvia, France, Belgium, Norway, Italy and the Netherlands.

A spokesman for the county council said there was a guide allowance of £115 a night for accommodation costs.

She said: "We do have procedures in place to make sure we get value for money."

The spokesman said one of the trips mentioned was for two adults with disabilities and two support workers to Florida, which had been booked by the county council but repaid by the adults afterwards.

The survey of authorities showed Mansfield, Ashfield and Bolsover district councils had no trips abroad. At Newark & Sherwood District Council there were trips to Poland, Greece and Germany but they were externally funded.