More than 200 council employees earn salaries of £50,000 or higher, figures have revealed.

Croydon Council currently has 202 middle managers on its payroll earning a combined £13.94m a year. 

But the authority has shed a fifth of such employees in the space of 12 months, saving it £2.59m from its annual budget.

In 2011 the council had 255 workers earning more than £50,000 a year.

The figures, released by the Taxypayers Alliance, show Croydon to have a higher spend on middle managers than most outer London boroughs - although it is also geographically the largest.

A council spokeswoman said: "Although Croydon is London’s largest borough it has lower management costs than many other London councils, and is one of the most efficient and high performing in the country.

"Croydon’s track record on efficiency has seen the council make savings of more than £60m in the past three years by cutting management and back office costs. Last year alone it reduced the annual pay bill by more than £7m.

"The council plans to make further efficiency savings of at least 20 per cent over the next four years."