A TORY councillor has admitted taking £20,000 of public cash from an “empty homes” fund to do up a house she rented out as a holiday let.

Newly elected Dumfries and Galloway councillor Julie Currie told The National she has “nearly” paid back the money which was given to her for a property she owns in Stranraer.

She is the owner of a property described on rental websites as a “charming holiday cottage” which is being rented out for £139 a night and as much as £255 in the summer.

Currie claimed the full amount under Dumfries and Galloway’s Town Centre Living Fund, which is intended provide cash for repairs to encourage landlords to rent out empty properties to combat depopulation.

Asked by The National about benefitting from the fund, Currie said: “I think I probably need to speak to

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