Bailiffs were sent in by St Albans District Council to collect in more than 2,000 debt cases last year.

The council instructed bailiffs 2,306 times to collect debts owed by residents and businesses during financial year 2014/15, according to research by charity Money Advice Trust.

Figures last month revealed the council ended the year with £5.2million in unpaid council tax arrears.

Joanna Elson, chief executive of the trust, the charity that runs National Debtline, said bailiff should be an "absolute last resort".

“Local councils are facing significant funding pressures – and they of course have have a duty to collect what they are owed. The council’s use of bailiffs, however, remains too high.

"Sending the bailiffs in can deepen debt problems, rather than solve them – and it can also have a severe impact on the wellbeing of people who are often already in a vulnerable situation.

"Our research shows that the councils who use bailiffs the most are actually less effective at collecting council tax arrears."

The number of bailiff referrals made by the council increased 106 per cent from the 1,118 referrals in the 2012 calendar year.

The council also makes referrals to bailiffs for parking issues, and it is believed many of St Albans' referrals were for parking rather than to collect council tax debts.

Colm O’Callaghan, chief finance officer of St Albans District Council, said: "The vast majority of council taxpayers and ratepayers pay in full and on time.

"Typically in the St Albans District, we collect around 99 per cent of the money due.

"We do pursue unpaid council tax vigorously as the public would expect, but we take into account any financial difficulties people may be experiencing.

"We work with them to see if we can agree a realistic arrangement to pay back their debt in instalments.

"We have good relationships with community organisations that can offer help to people in difficulty "Bailiffs are only used as a last resort. Wherever possible we will look to use different recovery methods."

Last year National Debtline, run by the Money Advice Trust, provided advice to 154 residents in the St Albans area.

The charity has written to the leader of the council, cllr Julian Daly, with details of its latest research on bailiff use, and to call for improvements to debt collection practices to make sure people who are struggling get the free advice they need.